Bioshock 3: Eleanor's Dream
by Crazy Iemon
Summary: Eleanor thought her problems were over when she left Rapture. Little did she know that her adventures were just beginning! Follow Eleanor as she struggles with this new world and encounters an old familiar face...Constructive criticism welcomed
1. Chapter 1

(A/N: A couple of quick things I need to make clear before you start this story. First, this is taking place after the neutral ending. Since Delta harvested a couple of the Little Sisters and killed most of the NPCs, Eleanor eats the remaining Little Sisters you find in the Little Sister Orphanage in order to boil the water of the ship. I'm assuming she harvest the Little Sisters not because she thinks that's what Delta is teaching her, but because there wasn't enough Little Sisters left since Delta harvested some of them.

Second, this is the first fanfiction I've written in awhile. The motivation for writing this really comes more from wanting to add another story to the Bioshock section and an urge to find out what happens next after the ending. My past track record with writing fanfiction is pretty bad, so most likely I won't be able to finish this. You have been warned.

Third, continuing on from the second point, if anyone knows any good stories that continue Eleanor story after the fall of Rapture, please feel free to PM me or tell me about it in a review! It would be greatly appreciated :D)

Eleanor looked at her hand. The long needle of her Adam Extractor glistened with the blood of Delta...her father. She could feel Father's memories shifting through her blood, flowing up where it settled into her mind. It was nothing more than a jumble of thoughts and ideas though. Eleanor had never taken more than a few memories from someone before, but with Father, she drained him completely of _everything_ – even his suppressed memories from before he became her father, when he was still known as Johnny Topside.

It was no surprise that it would take a while to completely integrate with consciousness. Perhaps Father would form together as a separate entity, a voice in her mind. Perhaps she would only feel his instincts. Or perhaps- her heart tightened in pain at this thought-…perhaps this was all in vain and Eleanor would merely be stuck with a bunch of memories that belonged to someone else. Then she would be alone.

Again.

Eleanor collapsed to her knees, staring lifelessly at the dimly-lit sea. She was completely and utterly alone again. She had harvested the remaining Little Sisters- there simply weren't enough of them to boil all the water without using her body as a single focal point. Mother- No, Doctor Lamb was dead. She had let that stupid witch drown, damned be to her and her foolish ideals. And Father...

What was the point? Eleanor had more Adam in her body than any man could ever dream of- and stay sane. But what good was all this power when the wielder had no purpose...no motivation...no GOAL? Eleanor had dreamed for her years of escaping Rapture and now that she was here…

She just wanted to lay on top of this ballast next to Father's corpse and sleep forever and ever.

_No._

Eleanor let out a gasp as her a flash of pain radiated from her stomach. Something deep within her core seemed rumble angrily at the thought. It was like something had wrapped around her insides and was trying to squeeze all her blood out. She could feel her Adam rumbling under her skin, yelling one word.

_**SURVIVE.**_

Yes, yes, thought Eleanor. Father had given his life to save her. He had dedicated his entire body to giving her the freedom that she wished for. She couldn't let his sacrifice go to waste. She would survive like Father had. She would head to coast. She didn't know what she would do- but she would do what she needed to survive.

With one final longing glance at Delta's body, Eleanor leapt into the ocean and began her long swim towards the shore.

She didn't look back again.

(A/N: So what did you think? And again, if anyone has some good Bioshock fanfiction recommendations, send them over to me!)


	2. Chapter 2

So this was the surface.

Eleanor had always envisioned the surface as a beautiful, glamorous place. She remember being filled with wonder when she read Amir's book on the surface- from Ireland to India to...everywhere! And the lure of the surface was only compounded as her imprisonment made the surface not only an eternal paradise, but the symbol of freedom. A world with no ceilings and ever open sky, a world where should could be free basking in the ever-warm light of the sun!

She was right about one thing- she was certainly basking in the warm light of the sun. She was basking so much that her face felt like it was melting off.

In Rapture, it was always dimily-lit, with patches of darkness permeating everywhere. She did remember a time when Rapture was always illuminated. Of course after the civil war no one maintained the city. Throw it in the fact that pretty much everyone spliced up and no longer needed the light and Rapture had eventually fallen to almost complete darkness. There was no need to replace what no longer was needed.

It was so bright. The sun seem to illuminate everywhere, the trees, the grass, her armor, her EYES. Oh Father, her eyes burned. Eleanor could barely see and had to keep squinting to make out anything.

Luckily, thanks to the wonders of gene therapy and all the numerous injections and experimental drugs Mothe- Lamb(that woman was no mother of hers!) had given to her, Eleanor eyes had adjusted in only a little less than two hours. Unfortunately, her eyes kept watering, making poor Eleanor look like she was constantly crying. Eleanor had no doubt she looked the part- she felt so incredibly tired, so incredibly lifeless...

_Father..._

Eleanor shook her head. As she approached the shore, she had seen many boats- fishing boats, she identified, as images of past lessons flashed into her head. No doubt, there was a town nearby.

Eleanor glanced down at her body. She was still wearing her Big Sister diving suit. It would probably be best if she stayed out of sight until she re-appropriated her clothes.

With those final thoughts, she leapt to her feet and began to search for the town.

* * *

It was ridiculously easy to find the town. Eleanor could smell the stench of fresh fish over ten miles before she actually could see the town. She knew she had a heightened sense of smell thanks to splicing, but God- how could the surfacers stand to be near the smell, much less live right next to the stink?

The irony of her distaste was not lost upon her- Eleanor had lived her whole life hundreds of feet under the sea, so close to fish she could actually touch it if there wasn't glass, and she could not, for the life of her, stand the smell of the slimy creatures. Eleanor felt a faint rumble of humor in the back of her head but she ignored it.

It was a small matter to change her wardrobe. Eleanor had simply teleported into an unoccupied house and re-appropriated the owners possessions. Luckily, the first house had a young woman owner who was clearly quite rich. Judging by the size of the home and its distance away from the rest of town, Eleanor guessed this was a woman's summer home or retreat. Why anyone would want to live in a five mile radius of this stinkhole, much less take a vacation her was beyond Eleanor's understanding. But then again, surfacers were different from Rapture. Much less violent she hoped.

Eleanor didn't really care much about fashion- she simply grabbed the biggest of the woman's many suitcases and threw as much clothes as she could fit into the thing. She quickly stripped herself of her armor and put on a simple white dress. It felt a little small- it only went down to her knees and clung to her shoulders more than she was use to. She was tempted to simply leave her Big Sister armor but a faint grumble of negative approval in the back of her mind stopped her. With a sigh, she grabbed another, smaller red suitcase and stuffed the armor in it. She didn't know why she was bringing it- she didn't want to ever have to use it again.

After storing up on clothes, Eleanor went around the rest of the house, searching cabinets and drawers for anything- from necessary things like money and dry food and bottled water to random useful objects like rubber, wires, screws: anything that might come in handy later. It was strange- Eleanor felt like she had done this hundreds of times before yet she couldn't recall a single time in her life when she had even been a scrounger like this. There were times when she opened a drawer and felt the urge to close it and reopen it again to see if there was new loot.

Odd, no?

Shaking those thoughts away, Eleanor finished ransacking the house. She was now in possession of two suitcases full of clothes, water, food, useful materials, and a full set of Big Sister armor. Furthermore, she now had over $800 in surfacer money stuffed in her purse- a decent sum for a parasite like her. Was a woman not entitled to liberate items for her own survival Mr. Ryan?

_No, says the Man in Rapture_, Eleanor thought bitterly. _It belongs to ME_.

* * *

If you were to ask anyone in town, they would say Andrew and Peter Appleton were as alike as two peas in the pod. As much as the two would disagree, it was quite true: the two were brothers- twins in fact. The two weren't identical twins but they held enough physical similarity that it was impossible to not be able to tell the brothers were related. The two teenage boys had bulky, muscular bodies, the product of long games of football with their friends and rowing their fishing boats out and back to sea everyday.

At the moment the two were lounging around without anything to do. Normally, they would either be out fishing, as it was summer vacation and school was out. But the recent massive thunderstorm had destroyed most of the small boats of the town, leaving only the larger boats, like the one their father had, left to fish out the entire sea. Slightly annoying, but at least money was still coming into the family.

It was Peter who was the first to notice the stranger. The more "adventurous" and prettier (he liked to think) of the two brothers, he was always on the look out for pretty, unattached women. Nudging his younger (and more boring) brother, the two brothers walked over to the new young woman.

"Hey there babe!" Peter called out, gaining the attention of the young woman. "Don't think I've ever seen you before, otherwise I would have remembered such a pretty flower like yourself. What's your sign?"

The girl blinked. "My sign?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. He could never get why people thought he and his brother were so alike- he was obviously the smarter of the two. "Sorry about my idiot brother here, miss. My name is Andrew Appleton and this fool here is my twin brother Peter. We just noticed that you look like a new comer and we just thought we'd come by and officially greet to your our town."

Peter opened his mouth to retort, but stopped as something caught his eye. "Hey, what happened to your shoes?" He asked without thinking.

Eleanor looked down at her feet. Her bare feet. Damn! She had completely forgotten that surfacers wore shoes everywhere. In Rapture, shoes had…fallen out of style for lack of a better word. Even during the glory ages of Rapture, it became customary to walk barefoot in a city where every was in walking or bathysphere distance and the floor was flat and clean. And after the glory ages…

Let's just say splicing got rid of a lot of old human needs and leave it at that.

"Um…I forgot to wear them," Eleanor stammered out lamely. Immediately she cursed herself- what happened to the silver-tongue little girl that always manage to talk her way out of trouble?

Luckily, or rather, unluckily, Andrew and Peter weren't paying attention to what Eleanor was saying. Instead, they were take closer look at the new girl. Her eyes were red- really red. Like she had been staring at the sun for too long…or had been crying for hours. Even now her eyes seemed to be tearing up. She had a pretty face but her skin was terribly pale, as if she hadn't seen the light of day for…years! Combined with her lifeless expression, she looked like she had been through hell and lost everything.

Andrew and Peter glanced at each other. The bare feet, the broken expression, the massive suitcase that was way too big for a small, defenseless girl to be lugging around- but she was forced to anyway because it held all of her possessions. The girl was the picture-perfect poster child for abandoned children.

It wouldn't want to be the first time it happened. Their town was a small fishing place, without much contact with the rest of the world. Plenty of families came down here to dump off unwanted family members then drove away, never to return. The twins stared at each, communicating wordlessly. This girl looked like she had it worst off then the others. It would be an evil thing to leave her flailing out in the wind.

Of course, the fact that she was one of the most beautiful girls the two boys had ever seen had nothing to do with it.

Honestly!

Peter scratched the back of his head. "Umm…Well, what's your name?" He stuttered, unsubtly changing the topic.

Eleanor didn't notice anything wrong. "Eleanor."

"Wow, that's umm...that's a pretty name," Peter felt incredibly awkward. How do you politely ask someone if they needed help? He didn't want to make poor Eleanor feel embarassed about getting kicked out of her home.

Andrew mentally sighed. His brother could be such a ignorant cretin. He stepped forward. "Well, Eleanor, since you're new to town, my brother and I just wanted to tell you that if you need a place to stay, for whatever reason, you can come to our house, free of charge."

Eleanor was shock. They couldn't be serious could they? Eleanor had always been good at judging a person's character- as how she was able to discover that Stanley Poole was attempting to bankrupt Mot- (Lamb! It's Lamb!) when she was a young girl. Her perception had only increased with Lamb's experiments and the increase of Adam in her body. With the massive amount of Adam flowing through her body, Eleanor was sure she could detect any lie thrown at her.

And right now, she couldn't get a single vibe of deciet from these two twins. It was as if they were speaking the truth...

No. It couldn't be true.

Or could it?

In Rapture, nothing was free, not even the air. If anyone was offering something for free out of the kindness of their heart, it only meant they were planning to take something from you when you weren't looking. There were no such things as "petty morals" in Rapture- Andrew Ryan had made sure of that.

"Why would you do something like that?" Eleanor asked, her voiced guarded.

Andrew and Peter looked at each other awkwardly again. "Well...it looks like hard times have fallen on you. Everyone needs a hand sometime, don't they? We're willing to give you one."

"You shouldn't have to pay for kindness," Peter spoke up.

Of course, the twin brothers were imaging a small crying Eleanor being beaten by some big shadowy brute. For the twins, those words were to be given to a beautiful woman who needed a hand.

For Eleanor, the words caused memories to flash before her eyes. She saw her father switching from harvesting the Little Sisters for full Adam to saving them, even though he recieved only half the Adam for no reward in return. No one in Rapture would have done anything like that- it was unthinkinable to do something for nothing. Even Lamb believed people should only do things that benefited the collective- the reward for the individual was that the group was stronger as and therefore the individual benefits for each member were greater as well.

Oh, what the hell. Her eyes and skin were burning from standing in the sun for so long. Her nose was stuffed and irritated, spoiled after years of breathing filtered clean air. She needed a place to stay and gather her thoughts- these two boys didn't seem that dangerous. Sure, they were bigger than her, but the surface didn't have gene tonics or plasmids. If they turned out to be a problem, she could just teleport away.

She gave a bright smile to the twins. People always liked when she smiled. "That's so nice of you guys! Okay, I accept your offer!"

"Excellent!" Both Andrew and Eleanor jumped as Peter's voice boomed out louder than expected. He grabbed Eleanor's hand and pulled her along. Andrew rolled his eyes at Peter's shamelessness. "Come, with us Eleanor. We'll show you the way. Our house is a nice, little thing, very homely and cosy. You'll love it! Our mother and father live their too, they'll be sure to love you..."

As Peter prattled on, Eleanor reflected on the situation. Perhaps this kindness was the "altriuism" that Andrew Ryan spoke of. Altriuism was helping others just for the sake of "giving them a hand", like these boys claimed they were doing, was it not? You would never see it in Rapture, but surfacers were suppose to be different than Rapturians.

_Well, _thought Eleanor with a smile, as she the felt the heat of Peter's hand warm hers_. If this is altriuism...its not so bad._

(A/N: Yes, Andrew and Peters' imaginations do certainly run wild don't they? Jumping to conclusions ftw! Seriously though, without the Big Sister armor, Eleanor looks like a faint breeze would knock her over. AND COULD THERE BE ROMANCE! :O

Also, Eleanor's dress is the same one as the one she wears in the "Sea of Dreams" trailer.

Now a couple of things that I feel like talking about:

-Sunlight  
I'm pretty sure when you've spent your entire life underwater surrounded by artificial lighting, the sun's going to kill your eyes. Plus, the amount of sunburn kids in Rapture must get when they go to the surface...

-Scrounger Tonic  
Anyone find it weird that the Scrounger Tonic works on cabinents and safes? I can understand dead bodies since you could be searching different pockets, but a cabinent is a cabinent. Re-opening it is not going to change the contents...

-Shoes  
How many shoes have you seen in Rapture? Of course, Splicers probably don't need to wear shoes...Big Daddies have metal boots...Big Sisters have...metal fins? Andrew Ryan was wearing shoes but then again, that was ten years ago.)

Remember, if anyone knows any good Bioshock 2 sequels or Eleanor-centric fanfics, please let me know!

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AND DONT FORGET TO REVIEW!


	3. Chapter 3

Living with the Appleton family was quite the experience for Eleanor. They were a close-knitted family, like all the other families that Eleanor had read about in the books about the surface. Still, Eleanor found it odd that no one asked questions about her past, or where she was from. Everytime the topic was even hinted at, the Appleton family would begin throwing nervous glances at her as if she would spontaneously combust at any moment. Then they would unsubtly change the subject. It was very strange in Eleanor's opinion, but since she sensed no ill will, she had no problem with it; it made things more convenient for her. In any case, she chalked it for a surfacer thing. Perhaps spending too much time in the sun affect peoples' minds? She knew all this blasted light was certainly irritating her.

As for the family members themselves they were quite interesting.

Andrew Appleton was clearly the most educated of the family. In fact, the first thing he had done was introduced Eleanor to the Appleton family study, of which Eleanor had been absolutely grateful for. The Appleton's had the largest collections of books in town, passed down from generation to generation. It's collection was only increased as the study was considered the unofficial library of the town and townsmen often donated their books to the study, so long as anyone who wished to read was allowed in.

Eleanor had taken to the library with unrestrained glee. She absolutely loved books. Everybody loved books in Rapture, before splicing replaced all the wants in the world. They were not only a way to escape the dreary city, they were ways of spreading a man's knowledge, the core resource that Andrew Ryan had used when inviting civilians to live in his underwater city. The best and the brightest only, after all.

It also helped that everytime she opened a book in the Appleton Study, there was an odd rumble of approval in the back of her head that sent shivers of satisfaction down her spine. Something inside of her just felt _good_ whenever she learned something new.

Mrs. Appleton was a tall, strong-looking woman. She had an aura about her that Eleanor couldn't help but admire- Mrs. Appleton seemed to be able to both intimidate and attract all around her. Make no mistake though- she was a kind and sweet woman underneath those her strong arms of hers. From the moment they met, Mrs. Appleton had taken to Eleanor as the daughter she never had. After Peter and Andrew had explained her situation (presumably that she was new to town and needed a place to stay), she had swoop down on Eleanor, startling the poor seveteen year-old girl, and sweep her off her feet in a massive (slightly bone-crushing) bear hug.

"Oh you poor little thing!" She exclaimed, confusing Eleanor greatly. Did the surfacers think she was poor? She had started out with nothing but after re-appropriating the rich woman's goods, she was certain she had a sufficient amount of money to disqualify her from the status of poverty.

It must be a surfacer thing.

Mrs. Appleton placed Eleanor down. "Oh you must be all filthy and tired from your long ride," She said louder than was necessary. She began stroking Eleanor hair much to her discomfort (though Eleanor would later reflect the sensation didn't really feel that bad). "Don't worry your pretty little head about it though, my darling, we'll get you cleaned right up and you'll be feeling fresh as new in no time!"

What proceeded to follow was one of the most comfortable baths that Eleanor had taken in her life. Not only had it been awhile since she had bathed in hot water, but Mrs. Appleton absolutely pampered her with love and attention. Eleanor began to follow her around the Appleton house (much like a lost puppy she would later reflect to her own embarrassment), learning the "Art of a True Woman" as Mrs. Appleton told her. She began to learn how to clean, how to do the laundry, how to cook, everything a good house wife was suppose to do. Eleanor had never learned any of these things- after all, she was suppose to be the special one! The Savior of the People! The first Utopian! But a housewife? Perish the thought! Still, Eleanor loved learning these new activities, if only because she got to spend more time with Mrs. Appleton.

In contrast with Mrs. Appleton, Eleanor barely saw, much less spend time with Mr. Appleton. Mr. Appleton was a fisherman and spent most of his time out on sea, trying to bring home the bread every night. He was spending even more time out of the house as business was booming. The recent storm had destroyed most of the town's boats, leaving Mr. Appleton with no competition out in the high seas. Still, from the short time she spent with him, Eleanor had learned that Mr. Appleton had a loud boisterous laugh. The man loved a good joke and loved telling them more.

Eleanor, on the other hand, rarely understood any of these surfacer jokes and found it hard to laugh.

Ever.

As a result, the two had a unspoken agreement to spend as little time with each other as much as possible. Their two personalities just didn't mesh well.

And Peter...Eleanor wasn't sure what to think of him. At first, Peter had mostly avoided her. Everytime the two were in the same room, Peter's face would become red and he would start to exert a nervous aura. He would stay around for a minute, unable to sputter more than two words to her at a time. Then, he would leave. Eleanor had been puzzled by the whole affair but Andrew had advised her to simply ignore the situation, so she had. This went on for three days before Peter finally built up the courage to speak to her. It had been an interesting experience...

Remember, review motivate me to write, so DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

She had been in the Family Study-Library when it had happened. Eleanor was engrossed with a political narrative that analyzed both the merits and flaws of objectivism and collectivism that Andrew Ryan and Lamb had believed in respectively. It was quite an interesting read, particularly as the writer was quite accurate about the flaws of each ideology- she had actually seen many of the flaws exemplified in Rapture! Such a shame that neither Ryan nor Lamb had read this book before they ripped Rapture apart.

Speaking of Rapture...Eleanor glanced down to the small red suitcase that held her Big Sister Armor. She hadn't let that it out of her sight once since she first came to the Appletons. The Appleton's had been slightly surprise by the possessive behavior but hadn't said anything about it. Eleanor was glad for this: she didn't want to have to explain why she was carrying a metal diving suit around to a bunch of surfacers. She still didn't know why she kept lugging the damn thing around, but something in the back of her head was ordering her to hold on to it.

Eleanor's heightened ears twitched as she heard footsteps approach, but she made no move to acknowledge them. She could tell from the pace and sound of the steps that it was the heavier, more muscular Peter. Once he realized she was in the room, he would turn and go somewhere else.

Today was different. Eleanor looked up as Peter knocked on the open door of the study. He looked incredibly nervous as he stood in the doorway to the study.

The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Hi there." Peter said, breaking the silence.

Eleanor rose to her feet and closed the book. Although she knew nothing about Surfacer custom, she was a quick study and had picked up a few things from observing how the Appleton family acted (particularly Mrs. Appleton).

"Hello Peter," She said warmly. "What can I do for you?" She flashed him a smile- Mrs. Appleton always smiled when she greeted someone and many members of the Cult of Rapture had complimented Eleanor that her smile was quite pretty.

Peter immediately felt weak in the knees. God damn, that smile was beautiful. Peter wondered if Eleanor knew just how radiant her smile was. With her pale face, it was like the parting of dark clouds as the sun came out. Her smile seemed illuminate the room with warmth. In Peter's opinion, it was a good thing Eleanor didn't smile much otherwise he would have long since embarrassed himself by fainting or blurting out something stupid.

Except now he was embarrassing himself by standing around with his mouth open like a dumbstruck fool. "So uhMH..." He winced as his voice cracked slightly. "How has your stay with us been?"

"Very well, thank you very much. Your family is very kind. You and your brother are a lot of fun to be around. I think it's interesting how similar the two of you are."

Peter always hated when people said that about he and his brother. He and his brother were complete opposites you idiots! ."Why don't bend over and let me show you how similar we really are?" Peter said.

To his pillow.

That night.

When he was absolutely sure no one would overhear him and report to Eleanor or his mom.

What he actually did was laugh (a little louder than necessary) and say, "Oh yeah we are! We're like two peas in a pod, my brother and I."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "Two peas...of the same pod?" She repeated slowly. The boys didn't look like peas. More like baby Brute Splicers. She mentally chuckled at the image of a miniaturized-sack of bulging muscles.

"Oh! I mean people think we look and act the same way".

Eleanor sat silently, mulling over that odd analogy. While there had been peas grown in Rapture, it along with many other plants had no longer been grown when the Civil War broke out. She had seen pictures of pea pods in various books though. It was almost impossible to tell the difference between two peas in a pod as they look almost exactly the same..._Aw_, thought Eleanor. _Now the analogy much more sense._

Interesting.

Unfortunately while Eleanor was thinking deeply about the meaning of surfacer idioms, Peter's thoughts were on overdrive. Who could blame him? He was left standing around in an awkward silence, his nervous mind creating all sorts of crazy conclusions as he over-analyzed the situation. Man, he didn't know what was happening to him! He had planned to come here, engage Eleanor in some really interesting conversation to get her to open up (heh heh, open up. Mhm...). Instead, all he could think of was boring, un-engaging questions. If he didn't think of something fast, Eleanor would get bored and he would never be able to work up the nerve to talk to her again! It would be the end of the world! Quick, think of something interesting, think of something interesting, think of something interesting, think of -

"So, um, what happened to your family?"

Peter's mouth immediately dropped open in horror. Did he just ask that? He did! Oh God, why did he ask that? Of all the questions, why did he have to ask the one that brought up Eleanor's abandonment? Peter couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Eleanor must be feeling now. He was such a tool! "I'm sorry!" He sputtered. "I didn't mean- I shouldn't have-"

Ignorant to Peter's turmoil, Eleanor was simply confused. Why was Peter so afraid? She could feel the terror bleeding him off in waves. She was actually surprised that there hadn't been any question about her past before now. Was this another Surfacer custom? She clearly still had much to learn.

She tried to assuage him. "No, it's alright. They're dead."

To Eleanor's dismay, it seemed to have the opposite affect. Peter's face turned white and he started choking as half-formed words seemed to clog up his throat. Unsure what she did wrong, Eleanor decided to keep her mouth shut for now. It took a few minutes, but Peter was finally able to calm down.

"Wow, I'm really, really sorry," He said, his voice taking an almost pleading tone. "I really- I mean, I- it was stupid- I, look, I didn't mean to bring something like that up."

Again, Eleanor was completely confused. Why was he sorry? What had she said wrong now? There were still too many things Eleanor didn't know about when it came to surfacer customs. It was time to change this to a safer topic. Taking care to be as polite as possible, of course. "Sorry, can we talk about something else?"

Peter looked like a chicken as he quickly bobbled his head. Thank God for that exit. "Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well...was there anything else you needed to ask me?"

Peter mentally bonked himself in the head. In his nervousness he had already forgotten the reason he had come and made a fool himself in front of Eleanor. He was seriously regretting his decision. If he could just go back and stop himself...

Well, he was already here now and Eleanor was looking at him expectantly. It was time to bite the bullet and man-up. He cleared his throat.

"Doyouwanttogotothebeach?"

Eleanor blinked. "Excuse me?"

Peter mentally slapped himself. He took a breath and said, "I just wanted to know if you, you know, maybe, like, umm, want to go with the beach? Maybe? With me?"

His voice faltered as he looked up at Eleanor with a despicably pitiful hopeful expression. Eleanor didn't notice though as she looked down at the closed book she had been reading. Go back to the sea? She had just left! Plus, there was still so much to study...

A negative rumble of disapproval seem to echo across the back of her mind, cutting off that line of thought. To swim, to feel the touch of ice, cold water on her skin again...yes, yes, something in her seem to say. She had been spending too much time coped up inside reading books. She should be outside on this beautiful day. She should be _swimming_.

And just when Peter was about to give up hope, Eleanor nodded. "Yes, I think its time for me to take a break. Let's go the beach Peter."

_REALLY?_ Was Peter's immediately, silent -and completely undignified- reaction. He managed to catch himself though, and take on a "cool" nonchalant expression. "Alright babe," He said, ever the smooth talker. "Don't worry about the swimsuit. My ma's got a couple of her old suits from when she was a kid. They should be able to fit you." He winced at his carelessness and shot a nervous glance at Eleanor. His "kindness" could easily be misinterpreted as a underhanded ploy by a hormonal teenager to see Eleanor in a skimpy swimming suit.

(Which it totally was).

Luckily for Peter, Eleanor was oblivious. She was merely glad that Peter had been so thoughtful. She had no idea that the surfacers had special attire to be used when swimming! After all, if you wanted to take a swim in Rapture, you needed an pressurized diving suit otherwise you'd be crushed. "Thank you Peter! That's very kind of you." She exclaimed, mentally letting out a sigh of relief. That could have easily led to some hard-to-answer questions.

_Score!_ Thought Peter, mentally high-fiving himself. "I'll go get the swimsuit then! Meet you in five!" He shouted, nearing tripping over himself in his excitement. He quickly left the room, crowing to himself in victory.

Eleanor smiled. _What a nice guy._

**_Thanks to blue rumbler, Shadow700, Sj, Jomahawk2694, Big Sister K for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!_**

**(Updated 7/19/12 for minor spelling errors)**


	5. Chapter 5

**(Thanks to blue rumbler and Shadow700 for your reviews! Your compliments are much appreciated. Now on to the next chapter!)**

Peter could only gape. Not at Eleanor's body, though he had done his fair amount of staring. Eleanor had a killer body that was filled in all the right places. The blue single-pieced swim suit clung tightly, leaving nothing to the imagination, much to Peter's pleasure. He was giving himself mental high fives the entire walk to the beach as he was _so_ going to brag about this to his friends later. All hormonal thoughts, however, were driven out of Peter's mind when the two teenagers reached the beach. It was there that Peter made a startling discovery.

Eleanor was a goddess in water.

Peter had always prided himself as a good swimmer, but he had absolutely NOTHING on Eleanor. All her actions were effortless- the water just seemed to bend to her will. It was like watching Olympic swimmers on TV- she swam through the water as it was as natural as breath, like she had been living in the sea her entire life!

"Where did you learn to swim like that?" He finally managed to say.

Eleanor shrugged, slightly embarrassed. This "swim suit" showed far more skin than she would like. It was more like a piece of cloth than actual clothing in her opinion. But she was on the surface now and she had to conform to Surfacer customs if she wanted to remain incognito. Plus, it wasn't like Rapture had any swimsuits- just diving suits. Perhaps this was most the optimal clothing for swimming in shallow water?

She was also slightly mystified. She always had been a good swimmer, but now she felt like she was a God in water. Her technique...she didn't even know there could be was "proper technique" for swimming. Every stroke, every lunge, every paddle- she could do it in ways that she had never even thought of, much less been taught. It all seemed to come naturally to her- as if she had been swimming so much that she had taken it and broken it down into a science. Before, Eleanor knew how to swim. Now, Eleanor was a swimmer.

Yet for some reason Eleanor wasn't curious to find out more about this strange discovery. It just seemed...natural. Unless...could it be...?

_Father... _She mentally called out, her thoughts filled with longing.

There was no response.

As for Peter...he wasn't the most observant of people, much less the lady killer he fancied himself to be, but even he could tell the shift in Eleanor. Before, she had seemed content, almost happy. Now...she seemed depress.

Lifeless.

Just like she was when Peter first met her.

"Did you lose someone recently?"

Eleanor snapped her head up to look at Peter in surprise. Peter shifted uncomfortably at the attention but did not falter. Something in him was telling him to keep talking. So he did. "I've lost someone recently too. I know you think you've met all my family but the truth is that you haven't. We once-no we have a little sister and she-"

Peter gulped as a wave of emotion rose up. He pushed forward. "We haven't seen her in two years. It's possible she's dead. Mom doesn't believe that but I...I can't either. Because if I do, I feel like...like..."

"Like it was all for nothing." Eleanor whispered. "Like all that time you spent with them doesn't matter anymore..."

"Because you'll never spend time with them anymore." Peter finished, his voice shaking. "But you can't let it get to you. My little sister...we never found any body or anything. She could still be alive. And that's what I have to hold on to. That hope. That hope that I'll one day see her again."

Peter would never know this but at that moment he had connected with Eleanor more than anyone ever had before including Dr. Sophia Lamb, Eleanor's own biological mother. For Eleanor, it was as if Peter had reminded her of the greatest secret of life. How could she had forgotten that she had single-handedly revived Father from the dead ten years after Lamb murdered him, motivated only by the childish hope that her Father couldn't be dead? And now here she was, ready to give up because transferring Father's essence _appeared_ not to have work? No...no, she would not give up. Father had given her a chance to live. And live she would, with the hope that, like Peter, she would one day see her true family again.

"Peter..." She said softly. "Thank you."

Peter merely nodded grimly. "Come on," He said, swimming to the shore. "It's getting dark. Let's go home."

* * *

As the two of them walked back to the Appleton home, Peter continued to speak. That small conversation in the water, that jolt of connection through sadness; it compelled Peter to talk. He spoke of secrets that he had never said before to anyone else. Something inside him pushed him, telling him the right thing to do right now was to open and spill all of his guts to a girl he had only known for three days. And throughout it all, Eleanor listened attentively, speaking only to ask questions.

"So you don't like your brother?"

Peter grimaced. "No, I love him. I can't afford NOT to love him, not since my little sister disappeared. It's just that he's so smart! Like he gets A's and everything easy. And he's as great at football and fishing as I am too. As his twin brother, everyone expects me to be as good as him and when they find out I'm not...they just don't understand how come I can't be some perfect being. People expect great things out of him, so they also expect great things from me too."

Eleanor nodded. She understood the feeling completely. Hadn't Lamb always told her that she was 'special'? That she was 'born to change the world?' "From the moment I was born people have said that I was special. They expected me to be their savior, someone who could come and change their world."

Peter stopped suddenly. "But you are special Eleanor."

Peter immediately blushed. He didn't mean to say that out loud. "Wait, let me explain," He said, hoping she wouldn't get mad. "I've only known you for three days yet I've told you things that I've never told anyone else, not even my brother. I feel more comfortable around you than my own family. Doesn't that mean something? Something about you?"

For some reason, Eleanor felt the need to deny this. "No Peter. It's not anything about me. You...I...you're different too. You say things that no one has ever said to me before. Things that I needed to hear. I'm don't want to be special."

Peter walked up to Eleanor until he was almost standing right now to her. "You've changed me Eleanor. Changed me without even trying. You are special no matter what."

Then Peter kissed her.

He wasn't sure why he did that. If it were any other time, Peter would have been far too frightened to even try getting close to Eleanor? Perhaps his confessions had imbued an increased sense of self confidence. All he knew was that one second he was standing in front of Eleanor and the next second his lips were pressed against hers.

It was like an wet, fiery explosion. For a moment, Eleanor was shocked still. Then excitement seemed to burst from with in Eleanor's stomach, flowing through her body like a rapid flowing river. It was a sensation she had never felt before, a sense of intimacy that she had never felt before. Her Adam seemed to react, bubbling fiercely beneath her skin, as if it was trying to break out of its organic prison. Without thinking she immediately began responding to the kiss, her tongue darting into Peter's mouth as the two teenagers pushed all their desires and hopes into that one moment of passion.

Then the two broke apart. For a few seconds neither of them spoke, breathlessly from that moment on intense passion that neither of them had ever experienced before. Finally, Peter spoke.

"That was...amazing."

Eleanor nodded, still breathing heavily. Then Peter seemed to realize just what he did.

"Oh my God! Shit! I...I've never done that before. I swear, I don't know what came over me. I just-"

Peter's apologies were cut off as Eleanor swooped in and pressed her lips into his. Something had ignited in Eleanor. It was that spark of emotion that Lamb had sought so hard to give everyone but couldn't even give to her own daughter. It was that spark that pushed Eleanor to spend ten years reviving a stranger that she had only known during her short time as a Little Sister.

It was love.

It was such a shame it wouldn't last.

(**A/N: To head off any comments before hand...)**

**Some people probably will have an issue the statement that Peter connected more with Eleanor than anyone before. Some might say Delta has that spot. Me, I say that Eleanor and Delta's deep connection is mostly chemical driven. Remember, Eleanor only knew Delta when she was a Little Sister and both parties were brain-washed to care for each other. And Eleanor and Delta really didn't talk one on one until they were running the hell away from the Rapture family. Of course, because of that deep connection, Eleanor will still believe Delta is the person most connected with her.**

**And just because Eleanor _thinks_ she loves Peter doesn't mean she really does. Haven't you ever thought you were in love with someone, only to realize a couple months later you can't stand being near them? And remember- Eleanor's a pretty screwed up girl who's been devoid of pretty much all contact with anyone besides Dr. Lamb. If you look at people like Amir and Delta, it seems to me that, since she never had any before, Eleanor craves anyone who shows her love. Peter and the Appleton's are some of those few people.**

***Forrest Gump Voice* And that's all I have to say about that.**


	6. Chapter 6

(Thanks to Sirus Black-the angel of death, Shadow700, and Big Sister K for your reviews!)

Chapter 6

Only a short time had past before the Appleton's had gotten used to their raven-haired addition to the family- it was soon felt like she had never been a stranger at all. Mrs. Appleton had noticed that Peter and Eleanor were a little closer than two relative strangers should be. Still, she figured that there was no harm so as long as the two didn't do anything nefarious. Secretly, she was glad that her son had found such a fine young woman like Eleanor.

And a fine woman she was! Not only was she quite pretty, but she was such an avid learner! When she first came to their home, she had known nothing about being a proper housewife. She didn't know how to cook, to do laundry, to clean, anything a woman should know. Even odder, she said the strangest things at the most random of times and often seemed to be surprised or caught off guard by the most common sayings or objects.

It was like she had been living under a rock before she met them!

But Eleanor had learned it all and more in only a couple of days. The Appletons still hadn't asked her about her past (_that poor little girl!_) but her physical appearance had improved greatly. Her skin no was no longer pale and now had a nice, creamy hue to it. Her eyes were no longer nearly as red as they had been before (_She must no longer be crying at night, _Mrs. Appleton had noted) and she looked healthier than she had ever been before. She still refused to let that small suitcase out of her sight- no doubt, she had something private that she wished to keep to herself. But that was alright- all and all, Mrs. Appleton was confident that Eleanor would be a great wife for Peter.

For Eleanor, she had never before felt so at home anywhere else. The Appleton's were...were just simply so kind! They were such a loving family, especially to her even though they knew nothing about her. Eleanor, in her most private moments, wondered if this was what her family could ever have been like. Maybe if Lamb had never became so insane...Maybe if Father had survived...Maybe if they had never gone to Rapture...

In any case, Eleanor was greatly enjoying her stay with the Appletons. It was actual quite peculiar to Eleanor: she felt like the Appletons were like...like her family. Yes, that was it. She had only lived with the Appletons for a little more than two weeks yet she felt more at home with these total strangers than she ever did with Lamb, her biological mother. The closest she had ever felt this way (besides her time with Father when she was a Little Sister) was with Gracie Holloway, her caretaker when Lamb was imprisoned, but even then, Gracie was more like an aunt than an actual mother. Living with the Appleton's just felt so..._right_. Like it was the way it was suppose to be.

It was quite uncanny. Almost unnatural.

In any case, it was entirely possible that Eleanor would have stayed with the Appletons. She could have eventually accepted them as her family and lived out the rest of her natural lifespan in that small, little fishing village, happier than she had ever been before.

Even the fish didn't smell so bad!

Of course, fate had different plans.

* * *

The moment Eleanor walked into the kitchen she instantly knew something was wrong. Normally, breakfast was a rowdy affair. Mrs. Appleton would be busy making more breakfast, humming some little tune while she bustled about. would be telling the latest joke he heard from his buddies. Peter and Andrew (actually only Peter) would usually be engaged in some kind of tomfoolery, acting like children half their age.

Today, however, their was a depressing silence. Peter and Andrew were quietly munching on their breakfast, while Mr. Appleton seemed particularly interested in the newspaper, barely touching his food as his eyes glazed over the same text over and over again. Mrs. Appleton seemed devoid of energy, halfheartedly cooking. There was no humming today- only loud sniffs, as if she was about to cry at any moment.

Normally, Eleanor would have outright asked what the problem was. However, the last two and a half weeks had taught her much about Surfacer etiquette, so she instead slid into the seat next to Peter and whispered, "What's going on?"

Peter jumped slightly, as if he hadn't noticed her slid up beside him. He leaned in and whispered, "Remember I was telling you about my little sister?" Seeing Eleanor nod, he continued. "Today's her birthday. She would have been nine now."

Eleanor placed her small suitcase down. She still carried her Big Sister suit everywhere with her, if only to make sure that the Appleton's didn't stumble upon it and ask...awkward questions. "Would you kindly tell me what happened?"

Peter grimaced- whether it was at Eleanor's awkward attempts at politeness or the thoughts of his dearest sister, no one would ever know. "We're not sure. She disappeared two years ago. One night we tucked Valentine in and the next morning she was gone. The police came by and they said there wasn't any forced entry or anything like that. But her window was opened from the inside. They said she must have wandered out of the house and...and got lost at sea. Its happened before with some other kids and my little sister was only 7. They said that a lot of time little kids like to go out to the beach by themselves..."

Peter's expression hardened. "But I don't believe it and Mom doesn't either. Valentine knew better than to go wandering off alone. Someone took her, I know it!"

Eleanor's interest was peaked. It sounded like this Valentine had been "adopted" by one of the Big Sisters and brought to Rapture. With her connection to all of the new Little Sisters, if Peter's Sister had been converted, Eleanor would know.

"May I see a picture of her?"

"Sure," Peter said, taking a framed photo off the wall. "Here's one we took for her 6th birthday."

Eleanor smiled at him as she took the picture. "Thank you Pe-" She began.

And then she died.

Or at least that's what it felt like. The moment Eleanor laid her eyes on the cute six-year-old girl, her Adam seemed to _lurch_. She had no time to react as her mind went on overdrive with images and memories flashed through her head. The picture in front of her seemed to fade away as her mind flashbacked.

_Fire and smoked raged across the city as the screams of enraged splicers pierced the walls of the nursery. Eleanor absentmindedly tossed the dead splicer away as she turned to the remaining Little Sisters in the room._

_"Big Sister? Is that you?" Said the closest Little Sister- Valentine was her name, Eleanor now knew._

_Eleanor ignored the little girl as she counted the remaining Little Sisters. 1, 2, 3... Eleanor felt her heart sink; there wasn't enough to boil the water. She had come so far, struggled so hard, and at the last moment, she and Father could no longer escape this damn city!_

_Unless..._

_If the Adam was concentrated into one source...If one skilled individual was boiling instead of multiple weaker individuals..._

_"Big Sister?" _

_Eleanor was shaken out of her thoughts by the call. She looked down at Valentine. "Big Sister, are we going home now?"_

_Home. Ignoring the pain in her heart, Eleanor made her decision. She had come too far to let Father die. Not now. Not when they were so close._

_Eleanor bent her knee as she placed her hand behind Valentine's head. With a subtle twitch of telekinesis to ensure none of the Little Sisters moved, her hand began to glow as she reached out for Valentine's slug. "Yes Little Sister," She said, as Valentine collapsed like a stringless puppet. "We're going home now."_

"NOOOOOOOO!" Eleanor screamed. The Appleton family had no time to react as Eleanor's telekinesis lashed out on its on accord, completely out of control. There bodies were picked up like ragdolls and flung about the room, smashing into furniture, pots, books, and walls. It was like a maelstrom as Eleanor's over-powered telekinesis ripped the brick walls of the Appleton home apart as if it was paper.

Eleanor couldn't see or hear anything. The pain was beyond belief- she had never felt such torture before. She felt like her head was splitting in half as dozens of foreign memories flashed through her mind. It was like a thousand people were screaming, shouting, laughing, crying, everything and everybody going off at once to create a cacophony of chaos. Tears poured down Eleanor's cheeks and were immediately evaporated as the massive well of Adam bubbled fiercely beneath her skin. She could feel the heat in her body, pushing more and more, ready to explode at any second.

Something inside her seemed to recognize the danger. With the last of her cognitive power, Eleanor grabbed her Big Sister Suit and teleported to the first place she could think of- the barren field she had first awaken at two miles from town. Not a moment too soon- as soon as her feet hit the rocky soil, her Adam welled and up and **released** in a fiery burst of flame.

**_Eleanor!_**

Eleanor vaguely heard someone shout her name before she collapsed to the ground. She immediately blacked out and knew no more.

**Don't forget to review!**

**(Edited 7/19/12 for minor spelling errors)**


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N: Thanks to crazymike 98, blue rumbler, Sirus Black-the angel of death, Shadow700, and Big Sister K for your reviews! You guys motivate to write- though this chapter is shorter than all my others .. Sorry :( )

_Eleanor smiled as she skipped happily along the floor. "Andy! Petey!" She shouted, as she ran outside the house. Her two older brothers looked up from the small boat they were working on. _

_"Hey there squirt," Peter said, giving her a noogie, much to her annoyance. "What'cha got there?"_

_"Be nice Peter," Andrew reprimanded. "It's her birthday."_

_Eleanor gave a wide smile. "I lost my first tooth!" She exclaimed, proudly holding up the misplaced tooth. _

_"Wow, good job!" Andrew said, giving her a hug while Peter rolled his eyes. "If you put that under your pillow tonight, the toothfairy will come and give you money!"_

_"Yeah, the tooth fairy has these huge red glowings eyes and big teeth! If you don't catch her, she'll take your tooth away and leave you noth-ow!" Peter rubbed his leg, as he glared at Andrew, who gave him a look that clearly said 'Stop teasing her'. Eleanor merely laughed at their antics causing both of the boys to smile fondly at their cute little sister._

_The day quickly past as night time arrived. It was nearly pitch black as the moon. Eleanor sat at attention by her window. She couldn't sleep! She wanted to see the tooth fairy that Andy and Petey told her about! She was so excited- it was going to be so cool!_

_There! Out in the darkness by the beach, Eleanor could see glowing red lights. Petey was right! She had to go and catch the tooth fairy now!_

_She quickly opened the window and slipped out. "Tooth fairy!" She called, running towards the red lights barefoot. "Tooth fairy, come back! Come ba-"_

**Eleanor...**

_Her voice died in her throat as she reached the glowing lights. In front of her stood a tall, thin **metal** giant. A massive needle seemed to glisten in the moonlight. It looked as big as she was. And really sharp. And really scary._

_The metal giant seemed to stare at her with its red, unblinking eye. It was like it was trying to stare straight through Eleanor._

**Eleanor.**

_"Tooth...fairy?" Eleanor croaked weakly._

_Eleanor didn't even see it move. One second Eleanor was standing scared stiff and the next second the monster had picked her and up and thrown her into the container it had strapped on its back. She screamed as she beat futilely against the metal walls. She was so afraid, she wanted to get out, she wanted mommy and daddy and Andy and Petey and-_

**ELEANOR!**

_Eleanor felt herself pause as the shout seem to thunder across her mind. Something wasn't right here at all._

**Of course something is wrong. This is not your memory Eleanor. This is the memory of one of the Little Sisters you harvested. This is _Valentine's _memory.**

_Valentine? But...no...Petey was her brother, her family._

**No, he was not. Your family was me. Remember me? Your Big Daddy. Your Father.**

_'Father?' The corpse of a Big Daddy flashed in front of Eleanor's mind, so still...so at peace. 'FATHER!'_

**Yes. Remember who you are Eleanor. Remember and wake up!**

* * *

Eleanor's eyes snapped out and she coughed weakly. She could barely think- her head felt like it was spliting in half. She groaned in pain.

**Eleanor. Are you alright?**

Eleanor froze. It couldn't be..._Father?_ She called out in her mind.

**It is I.**

Eleanor couldn't help it. The moment she heard those words, all of her pain, sadness, and fear just seem to come pouring out. She bawled like a baby as tears of joy and relief came pouring out of her eyes. Snot leaked out of her nose and spit came flying out as she lost all control over herself. It was quite a sight.

**Eleanor. **Delta's voice was gentle, but firm. **You need to calm down. There is much to do.**

Eleanor nodded weakly, her voice hiccupping as she sought to control her rampant emotions. She was so glad! She had been afraid that her attempt to save Father had failed. She had been afraid that she would be all alone.

**You are not alone, **said Delta, having read her thoughts. **But you need to listen to me Eleanor. You need to get away from this field. During your episode you released a massive blast of flame.**

At that, Eleanor noticed the stench of burnt destruction assaulting her nose. She lifted her head and saw that where there was a field before, now lay a massive circle of black ash.

**Someone must have noticed so you need to get away. Do not use your teleportation though. Your Adam is far too volatile at the moment. I know it hurts but you need to trust me. You have to run. You have to _survive_.**

Eleanor grunted in pain as she dragged herself to her feet. The pain in both her mind and body was almost unbearable, but she ignored it as she bent over and picked up her Big Sister suitcase. _Don't worry Father. _She said as she began slowly walking away. Already, she could feel the Adam in her body repairing her torn muscles. _I will always trust you._

oOoOo

oOoOo

**Don't forget to review!**

** (Edited 7/19/12 for Minor spelling errors)**


	8. Chapter 8

**(Thanks to DKrumpp007FTW, Shadow700, blue rumbler, crazymike 98, and Big Sister K for your reviews! As always, you guys motivate me to keep writting :D )**

The house was a scene of destruction. Pieces of books, furniture and clothes laid haphazardly over the place to create a picture of devastation. Amidst a large number of police officers, paramedics, and detectives scurrying among the wreckage stood a middle-age man overlooking the wreck. He looked to be somewhere in his fifties, with flakes of white in his head and slightly wrinkly skin. His aging features were only accented by the youthful faces working around him. The contrast made him look like an old man surrounded by teenagers. Still, despite this distinction, his skin had a nice healthy tinge to it and his two-piece, dark black tuxedo fit around snugly around his fit frame.

_Kids._ Agent Burningham snorted as he watched the rescues workers scurry around. Looking into their young faces with their smooth skin, Burningham felt old as dirt. They were all so young...

"Quite a scene isn't it, Burningham?"

_And here's the youngest of them all_, thought Burningham. "That's 'sir', to you Sapper." The old agent hummed in a bored tone. His voice had a deep rumble, like a lion waiting for prey. "What can you tell me about the situation?"

Like those around him, Agent Sapper was a much younger man than Burningham. He looked to be in his twenties- straight out of college. He wore the same black suit as Burningham, but unlike his older counterpart, it looked too mature for Sapper. The misplacement was only accented by his slightly spiked black hair and his young, excited expression. He could be considered Burningham's "partner"...if he wasn't more than thirty years younger than the old agent.

At Burningham's voice, however, Sapper's face transformed into a look of professional focus. He pulled out a pack of papers, flipped it opened and began speaking in a young voice.

"The neighbors say that around 8:21 A.M. this morning they heard lot bangs and crashes coming from the home. One woman said she glanced out of her window and saw the house rip apart like, I quote, 'God had grabbed that house ripped it in two.'" He paused for a moment, before adding, "Sir."

"What do the investigators say?"

"They're saying it was a tornado. Destruction of the house is similar to those hit by twisters. The debris was thrown about at high velocity, presumably by strong winds. There were four bodies found at the home- all of them killed by forceful impact matching those of various debris present at the site. They've been identified as the Appleton family."

"But none of the townspeople say they saw a tornado?"

"Yes sir. And none of them reported hearing anything remotely like a tornado. They said 'crashes and bangs'- most tornadoes sound like trains and loud howling. Furthermore none of the weather reports recorded any twisters forming or even any storms in the area.

"Still, it could have been a tornado- the debris from the house matches up with what we've seen in other homes destroyed by tornadoes. There have been cases of tornadoes unpredictably forming and destroying a single home before disappearing without anyone seeing it. We've also had cases of tornadoes forming during bright sunny days with clear skies. Predicting tornadoes isn't a perfect science, so while this case is highly unusual, its not unheard of."

"A freak tornado hmm? How dull." Burningham turned to his side and waved another man over. He wore the same suit as Burningham and Sapper. "Agent Esquire, what can you tell me about this girl?"

Esquire started without preamble. "It's a bloody mess, sir. The folks here say that about two-and-a-half weeks ago, a 17-year-old girl showed up here in town all alone with nothing more than two suitcases and the clothes on her back. People didn't take much notice: apparently that kind of thing is normal around here. Anyway, since she'd been abandoned by her family, the Appleton's here decided to take here in until she was able to get back on her feet. I can't tell you much beyond that sir. "

"No name?"

"No sir. After the Appleton's took her in, she rarely left the Appleton home. The townspeople only caught glimpses of her and she was always with one the Appleton family."

"Hmm, a strange, unknown girl shows up and lives with the Appletons before they're hit by a freak tornado," Mused Agent Burningham. "Then, after they're tragically killed, our mystery girl disappears."

"Perhaps it was a coincidence?" Proposed Agent Sapper. "Maybe she avoided getting killed, then stole what she could from the debris before leaving town- no one would be the wiser since pretty much everything was destroyed."

Burningham turned to Esquire. "You said she was abandoned by her family?"

"Yes sir, that's what the townspeople told me."

"Hmm..." Agent Burningham rubbed his chin. "Tell me Agent Esquire; did the townspeople say they knew she was abandoned by her family...or did they _think_ she was abandoned?"

"Err..."

Burningham sighed- damn rookie. "Come back when you find out. Afterward, call command and have them send out the description of this girl to all surrounding towns. Get some feelers out- we need to find this mystery stranger and see if she knows anything."

As Agent Esquire left, Burningham turned to Sapper. "Now what can you tell me about this burnt-out field?"

"Witnesses say they observed a massive plume of flame from about half a mile away," Replied Sapper. "By the time anyone got here, all they found was this blackened field. Early analysis of the field has led us to believe that it was caused by a massive burst of heat, hence causing the air to ignite and create the flame. We have been unable to determine the cause of the heat wave."

"First freak tornadoes, now freak heatwaves?" Burningham tutted in disapproval. "All in one town on one day?"

"It is a strange coincidence, sir, especially with this unknown girl. Almost suspicious"

Burningham stroked his chin. "This town is remarkably close to where codename Brian lives, isn't it? In fact, was this not the first town he was spotted in?"

His associate nodded. "Yes sir, ten years ago."

Agent Burningham was silent for a moment as he inspected the ruins. "Ring up Agent Roddenberry and tell him to keep a close eye out. He may have some company soon."

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**Don't forget to Review!**

**(Edited 7/16/12 for spelling)**


	9. Chapter 9

(A/N: Thanks to blue rumbler, Zero3921, Shadow700, shinigamichild, and Big Sister K for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!)

Eleanor loved lollipops!. She wanted a lollipop! Maybe Daddy would give it to her if she pleaded really hard...

**Eleanor. Remember who you are.**

Eleanor shook herself, trying to clear the Little Sister's memories away. After getting to a safe place, Delta had explained what was happening to her body.

**Eleanor, you have more Adam than in your body any person should even look at. If you had not been a former Little Sister, your body would have self-destructed long ago. As it is now, your mind is unstable. It appears you have assimilated the memories of the Little Sisters you harvested. Those memories are intermingling with your memories, causing your control over your Adam to become unstable.**

Delta paused.** It probably does not help that you held a connection with every Little Sister you harvested. If your ability to possess those Little Sister is not work against you, then the guilt caused by your personal attachment with them no doubt is.**

Eleanor stomach lurched. Now she knew why the Appleton's felt so much like her real family. It was the memories of Valentine influencing her own emotions.

Eleanor didn't like the feeling that someone else was determining her emotions. She had gotten enough of that from Alexander Gil and Dr Lamb.

Still, everything would be alright. Father was here now. To others, Delta's emotionless and serious voice could hardly be considered comforting. To Eleanor, Father's firm voice was like a solid rock, a lighthouse in the vast ocean to guide her. He was the life raft that she would cling to in the raging sea.

_What should I do Father?_

**We need to find someone who can help you. Someone who's been to Rapture. Someone who's actually seen the effects of excessive Adam usage first hand.**

Eleanor paused. _Are you talking about who I think you are?_

She could feel Delta nodding in a sort of mental sense. **We are at the closest landmass to Rapture, so he must have come by this way. He was the man who fought Atlas, the only other individual who injected a comparable amount of Adam to yourself. He may know something.**

_He has to know something._ The image of Jack Ryan flashed in Eleanor's mind. Information about the most successful case of the 'Would You Kindly' conditioning was something that Lamb had drilled into her mind... both figuratively and literally. _No man gets a taste of Adam without at least harvesting one Little Sister._

**Agreed. It will have been ten years, but an unknown man appearing in town with six orphan girls must have left an impression. We should be able to easily find information by asking the townspeople.**

Eleanor nodded as she got to her feet. At Delta's instruction, she buried her suitcase holding her Big Sister armor in a safe spot. It was his instincts that had caused her to hold on to it in the first place. As Delta explained, Eleanor never knew when she might need a bullet-proof diving vest.

Unfortunately, by the time time she was done, she could already feel a headache forming. She needed find the son of Andrew Ryan with all due haste.

Of course, like Father said, Eleanor didn't expect it take too long. How hard could it be to find one man and six orphan girls?

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know anything?"

The bartender glared at her as he fiercely rubbed an empty glass. "Look lady- I don't know nothing about no stranger who showed up here ten years ago. Unless you're here to buy a drink, you best be leaving now."

Eleanor gave a growl of frustration, but placed some money down and bought a drink. She hadn't planned to drink anything but Father had instructed to her to buy something. Apparently it was extremely odd for a surfacer to go to a bar and not drink at all. Best case scenario was she stood out, worst case scenario she would be kicked out.

She stomped over to the stalls and took a seat. She had no idea just finding a mention of Jack would be this hard, much less actually find him. Every time she asked someone if they knew about a man who showed up with six orphans ten years ago, he or she would deny knowing anything and immediately try to change change the topic. The first time it just was odd. The twentieth time it was damn annoying.

It was like the whole town was trying to hide Jack from her.

She took a sip out of the bubbling beverage, ignoring the burning sensation in her stomach as the alcohol was quickly burned away by her Adam. It didn't help her mood that her head felt like it was trying to ripe itself apart. She already had two minor relapses into Little Sister memories, both of which she was able to quickly break out with Father's help. To make matters worst, each flashback was followed by the most painful migranes she had ever felt in her life- it was so bad, she could hardly think, much less walk. The constant intermingling of foreign memories was wreaking havok on her emotional control as well- one second she was happy and the next second she was enraged.

**Patience Eleanor. Sooner or later we will find what we need.**

And it was as if the gods themselves were responding to Delta's call, for at that moment, a young man slid into the seat opposite of Eleanor with a large drink in hand. He was of medium height with dirty blond hair and bright brown eyes. He had a youthful appearance on his face.

Eleanor could also smell the alcohol off his breath.

The man's words were slurred, and he had a very provincial accent. Still, it was understandable. "Hey there missy, notice the bartender seemed to be givin' you a hard time. Rick's a mean ass, but ol Sullivan here can give you good company." The man gestured to himself, the motion nearly causing him to fall over.

Eleanor took a deep breath. At Father's urging, she resisted the impulse to release her fustration on this "Sullivan's" and rip his head off. Instead, she gave one of her patented smiles. "I would love that, but I really can't stay," She said in an innocent sounding voice. Peter always caved into her demands when she spoke like this. "If only someone could help me...I would be _so_ grateful."

"I can help!" Sullivan nearly shouted, a bit too eager.

"Do you know anything about a man who showed in this town ten years ago with six little girls in toll?"

"Oh you mean ol' Jack?" Eleanor nearly spat out her drink in surprise. Sullivan didn't seem to notice as he kicked back. "Yeah, I know about him- don't know anybody in town who don't. He showed up here about ten years ago with six of the sweetest little girls you ever seen in your life. Cute little angels they were.

"Anyways, so this guy no one ever seen before shows up. 'Course no one trusted the bastard. Got these weird chain tattoos on his wrist, like some kind of gang or ex-convict. But ol' Jack doesn't let that get to him. Nicest man I've ever met, always helping people out. I mean, he doesn't look like much, but that guy is STRONG. He's got the strength of ten men, that he does, and he's always helping people out. He never ask anything in return, except for materials for a home."

Sullivan glanced at Eleanor and mistook her enraptured stare for skepticism. "Yeah, that's right little Missy! Ol' Jack built his house and barnfrom scratch with his bare hands! Only took him a year too. Great man, great kids."

"Could you tell me where his house is?" Said Eleanor, straining to keep the excitement out of her voice. Finally! Some answers!

"Yeah, he lives about a mile west from town. Can't miss him- only house in the area." Sullivan placed his drink down and reached out with his hand to touch Eleanor, leering in obvious anticipation. "Now...let's talk about us little missy..."

Eleanor gave him another smile as Father whispered instructions into her ear. As soon as Sullivan's hand touched hers she gave a shriek that drew the attention of everyone in the bar. "Don't touch me pervert!" She shouted, jerking away from Sullivan.

"Wah...?" Was all Sullivan could say in surprise at the sudden reversal. He didn't get to say anymore as two burly men came up to the stall.

"I think you've had enough Sullivan," Said one of the burly men, placing his gorilla hands on Sullivan's shoulder. He not-so-gently pulled Sullivan up and steered him to the door. "Let's get you home now."

The other burly man nodded to Eleanor. "Sorry about that young miss. Anybody else gives you trouble and you just give us a holler."

Eleanor thanked him before downing the rest of her drink and exiting the bar. _I can't believe that worked._

**Never underestimate the power of innocence Eleanor. You'll be surprised how many problems can be solved by pretending to be the helpless, little girl.**

Eleanor smiled as Father's chuckles echoed across her mind before growing serious. _Let's hope this Jack has some answers._

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Don't forget to review!_  
_


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N: Thanks to blue rumbler, Zero3921, Shadow700, Sirus Black-the angel of death, Bydo, Zombie Dizzle, and Big Sister K for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!**

**Short chapter this time around guys. Don't worry though- fight scene coming up next chapter!)**

"-And stay out!"

With those final words, the bouncer heaved Sullivan out of the bar. As the drunk man hit the ground with a not-so-soft thud, the bouncer slammed the door with a loud bang before returning to his duties.

Outside of the bar, Sullivan's face grew serious. All traces of alcohol slipped from his face as stood up and dusted himself out. There was no swagger or any other signs of intoxication as he walked to a nearby payphone.

Sullivan quickly picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Command," He said, after a few seconds of ringing. His voice was no sharp and crisp without any accent. There was no slur in his voice as one would expect a drunk to have. "Get me Burningham."

He waited for a few moments before speaking. "Agent Burningham this is Agent Roddenberry reporting. I've just made contact with a young woman matching the descriptions of our mystery girl."

"And?" Inquired Agent Burningham, his tone conveying a sense of utter boredom. Sullivan ignored it and continued.

"She was asking about Codename O'Brien."

"Good." Said Burningham, sounding pleased. "Follow her. Things just might get interesting."

* * *

Much to Eleanor's pleasure, the drunk man's information was accurate. As she left town, she easily found our destination- it was the only home on an wide open field surrounded by trees. Many stone walls were built along the field, cutting it up in different areas. The condition of the walls indicated that they had been built long before the home had ever been constructed.

Standing a distance away from the home sat a man underneath the shade of a tree. He was laid back in a comfortable-looking lawn chair, sipping some lemonade and looking utterly relaxed. A thrill of excitement ran through Eleanor- could this be Jack Ryan? Could she have the found the answer she was looking for?

**Approach him calmly and politely, **advised Delta. **We do not know how he will react to an inhabitant of Rapture. Try to get a read on his character before revealing your hand.**

So as Eleanor approached him, she gave a smile. Manners first, as Mrs. Appleton always told her. "Hello there!" She called, attracting the man's attention. The man put down his drink and stood up as she came closer. "It's quite a fine day today isn't -"

She never got to finish. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the man's face, a memory immediately flashed into her mind.

_Eleanor was lying weakly on the operating chair, barely able to stay awake. Mother and Dr. Gil had just injected some new drugs in her, to clear out some of her remaining Little Sister conditioning._

_Mother's face hovered into her view. "How are you feeling my daughter?"_

_Eleanor couldn't speak so she gave a weak smile. Mother was always looking out for her!_

_"Good girl," Lamb said, patting her on a cheek. "Now, remember Eleanor, you were born to change the world. You are a messiah brought forth for the people, to protect them and serve them."_

_Eleanor nodded faintly. She knew her duty. Mother continued speaking. "Unfortunately, there are selfish, greedy people who want to destroy the masses. They put their own needs before those of the collective and plunge our world in chaos. These people would barr you from your duties and descend on the masses like wolves on sheep. Although we love all, there is no hope for these people. We can **not** sacrifice the whole collective for a few bad apples. As such, you must remove these rotting parts before they corrupt the family!"_

_Again, Eleanor nodded. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt the family, but Mother knew best. Lamb smiled at her response and kissed her on the forehead. _

_"Now, Eleanor...the following people I am about the show you are the ones who would strive to destroy the family. If you are ever to meet one of these, you must eliminate them." Lamb pulled out an old black and white photograph. "Here is the first one. He came into our city ten years ago, destroying all in his way for the whims of the selfish few. He could have been a great man, but ended up only as an unfeeling puppet. He must be removed. His name is..."_

"JACK RYAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Eleanor screamed as her world turned to red. Deaf to Delta's cries, she reached out with her telekinesis and attacked.

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Don't forget to review!


	11. Chapter 11

**(A/N: Thanks to blue rumbler, Zero3921, Shadow700, Sirus Black-the angel of death, Bydo, Zombie Dizzle, Lunatic Pandora1, crazymike 98 , Jomahawk2694, shinigamichild, and Big Sister K for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!)**

Three things went through Jack's mind when Eleanor began her attack.

One, this young woman was a splicer, most likely from Rapture. She wasn't like any splicer he had ever seen before though- her face look completely normal, without any mutations- as if she had never touched a single vial in her life. Her command over telekinesis made it clear that this assumption was false.

Second, he had never seen her before but she knew his name and was attacking without provocation. Although he had toppled the two most powerful men in Rapture, it had been over ten years ago. Surely, if someone in Rapture wanted to kill him, they would have sent an assassin long before now. It was quite the surprise

Third, this woman had a lot of ADAM. A LOT. Jack could actually almost feel the splicer's huge amount of ADAM coming off in waves. The power of her telekinesis left no doubt this woman had almost or as much ADAM as Atlas had- something Jack hadn't thought was possible

It was for this reason that Jack nearly didn't dodge in time when Eleanor reached out with her massively over-powered telekinesis and ripped out a huge slab on of earth three times Jack's height and two times his width. The amount of POWER that was coming off this girl left Jack nearly paralyzed with shock. Luckily for him, he regained his sense and leapt out of the way as the earth came crashing down where he was standing.

Eleanor wasn't done yet. She raised her hands in the air and reached out with her unstable telekinesis. Huge patches of dirt and rock ripped up from the ground to create a spinning vortex around her. Jack heard a loud crack behind him and threw himself out of the way just in time as entire TREES, roots and trunk, ripped out of the ground and started spinning around Eleanor.

"Oooooh boy." Jack breathed, gaping at the sight.

Jack barely managed to jump out of the way again as the Eleanor sent the debris in a massive wave of earth. If it hadn't been for the speed boost gene tonics, he would have surely been crushed. As soon as he hit the ground, he pulled out his modified revolver and squeezed out twelve shots.

_Pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow!_

The bullets didn't even come close to Eleanor as she pulled on her telekinesis to form a shield of debris. It was like watching a mini-tornado of earth, rocks, and debris that spun fiercely in air to create a protective cocoon around the girl.

_Boom!_

Eleanor stumbled slightly as a gernade exploded against her earth barrier. She barely had time to recover as the concussive blast from three more gernades and a heat-seeking rocket sent her flying.

"Dad!"

Jack ignored the cry as he focused. Reaching out with both hands, he grunted in pain as small holes ripped open in his arms. With a shout, he released a swarm of insects at the exposed girl. Satisfied at the the splicer's yelps of pain as the swarm descended and bit her mercilessly, Jack turned around and took cover behind a stone wall.

"Dad!"

Jack turned to the source of the voice- a black-haired, Hispanic teenager girl with brown eyes. "Damn it Marie, what the hell are you doing here?"

His foul-mouthed, 16-year-old daughter rolled her brown eyes at him. "Saving you, duh. You need my help!"

Jack mentally groaned. As much as he wanted to send his daughter to safety, he knew she spoke the truth. The amount of power this girl was displaying...Jack hadn't met someone this spliced up since Atlas. No, he would have to trust that he had trained Marie enough to stay alive.

"You and me are going to have a very serious discussion young lady. Did you bring anything for me?" He asked, eying the grenade launcher she was holding and the crossbow strapped to her back.

"Here," She said, tossing him his shotgun and tommy gun, along with a couple of eve hypos. "Now how are we going to take crazy bitch?"

"Those swarms should distract for a short-."

Jack's eyes widen as instincts honed from fighting hundreds of Houdini splicers sent warning bells off in his head. Without warning he threw a minor sonic boom at Marie, sending her tumbling away- Just in time as Eleanor teleported in with a burst of purple and slammed a fireball where Marie was. Jack didn't hesitate to check on Marie as he immediately whipped out his Tommie and opened fired. Eleanor screamed in pain as the first few anti-personnel rounds ripped through her stomach before her telekinesis managed to pull together a barrier of earth, blocking all incoming fire.

_FWOOOOOOOOSH!_

Jack barely managed to leap away as Eleanor sent a massive ball of flame. He had no time to admire the sheer mass of destruction before Eleanor sent a barrage of rocks at him, forcing him to dodge again.

_Boom-Boom-Boom!_

Eleanor was once again buffeted by explosions as Marie utilized her trusted grenade launcher. It wasn't nearly as effective as before- Eleanor's shield of floating debris remained mostly intact and she didn't even fall over. Still, Jack saw his opening. Concentrating, he pulled on his Adam and fired.

The 'fistful of lightning' as Atlas called it, jumped through an opening in Eleanor's barrier and slammed into her side. The floating rocks around her immediately fell as she twitched and jolted. Jack didn't waste a second as he pulled out both his shotgun and Tommie Gun and opened fired, causing the girl to scream in pain. Her scream's were quickly silenced as in a few short seconds, Eleanor's throat became the new home for four steel-tip bolts, courtesy of Marie.

To both their dismay, the barrage of "lethal" weaponry wasn't very deadly. Instead of dropping dead, Eleanor's wounds quickly sealed away as her regeneration kicked in. She calmly reached up and pulled the four steel bolts out of her throat.

And sent them flying back at Marie.

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**Don't forget to review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**(A/N: Thanks to blue rumbler, Zero3921, Shadow700, Sirus Black-the angel of death, Lunatic Pandora1, crazymike 98 , shinigamichild, and Big Sister K for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!)**

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"Marie!" Jack shouted at Marie's scream of pain. He dodged a flame ball and grabbed the next one with his telekinesis (he grunted in pain at the exertion- those fireballs were huge!) and threw it back at Eleanor, eliciting a satisfying screech of pain. Without wasting a second, Jack threw a smoke grenade against the ground in an effort to buy time as he sprinted over to his daughter, who was lying whimpering in pain. One of the bolts had hit her right thigh and had gone all the way through.

"Marie, are you alright?" Jack picked her up and jumped behind a rock. He pulled out the bolt, ignoring Marie's grunts of pain and took out one of his first aid kits from Rapture. "These first aid kits won't fix your leg, but it'll stop the bleeding."

Marie nodded, trying hard not to cry. "I'm fine, I'm fine. The dumb bitch sucks at aiming though."

Jack quickly pushed his paternal instincts down. He could hear the splicer randomly throwing massive fireballs and rocks into the smoke in an attempt to hit them. "Look, if we keep this up, we're going to be the ones to give in first. We need to get some heavy weaponry."

"Are you talking about that thing you've spent all year trying to hook up to our house?"

"Yeah. Leave the grenade launcher here with me and get to the thing set up. I'll lead the splicer into its crosshairs."

"You'll lead...? Dad, that's crazy! You'll get killed!"

"Your dad survived Rapture with a wrench and his bare hands. He'll survive this too. Now GO!"

Marie looked like she wanted to protest, but a heavy glare from Jack stopped the girl. Instead, she wiped tears from her eyes and nodded angrily, as she limped off back to the house. Jack briefly watched her walk away- She was a good girl and he had trained her well, but this was simply too dangerous for her.

Jack took out his lasts three eve hypos and injected all of them into his system- he would need all the plasmid power he could get. Spying his lawn chair that he was sitting in before, he quickly picked up the grenade launcher and went about setting up his defenses. There was silence only now- the splicer must have given up trying to blind hit them and was instead waiting for the smoke to clear. That was fine by Jack- he would be ready for her.

The smoke quickly dispersed as Jack stood stock still out in the open. The moment the smoke cleared, the splicer immediately spotted him. She seem to hesitate, as if unsure why he was standing out in the open, ready to be shot like a fish in the barrel.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Eleanor began to test the waters. She began shooting fireballs and rocks at him, a few at first then more and more. Jack didn't move, instead using a combination of sonic booms and telekinesis to block the attacks. He had fought enough of these Houdini-type Splicers to know how they operated. _Come on baby..._ He thought, as he continued to block. _Come on you crazy splicer, I know you want to...any second now._

Finally Eleanor grew impatient. With one last fire ball, she disappeared into a purple cloud and reappeared behind Jack, a fireball in hand as she prepared to slam it into his head...

Which was exactly what Jack was waiting for. The moment Eleanor disappeared, he leapt forward, getting out of the way as Eleanor reappeared behind him...and activated the cyclone trap that he had been standing over.

She was immediately sent flying into the air. Jack's expert eyes quickly tracked her ascent as his hand froze over. The moment Eleanor hit the apex of her flight, he sent the winter blast at her, freezing her instantly. Immediately, Eleanor plummeted down and slammed into the ground with a loud _CRASH_. She didn't shatter like he hoped she would, but he wasn't surprised. The ice quickly thawed away as Eleanor stood up, preparing to punish this damn fool...

Only to be hit by a fully-powered ignite.

The effect was instantaneous. Eleanor screamed in complete and utter pain as she ran around trying to put herself out. Her clothes burned away instantly and the flames quickly moved onto her skin. It was pure torture for her- every piece of skin, muscle and nerve endings the flames burned away, her ADAM quickly regenerated it back, only to be burned away again in a never-ending cycle of agony.

Jack grimaced, but didn't let up as he sent another, and another, and another ignite at her. He didn't like burning people, even splicers to death, knowing full well how painful it felt from all his encounters with Houdini Splicers. Still, the flames were far more effective than he had expected. He might even be able to kill her without using _it_...

And as soon as Jack thought that, the flames instantly went out. It was like a vacuum cleaner- one second the splicer was burning to death, the next second her skin had sucked in all the flames. Already, the blackened skin was regenerating, leaving a very nude, and a VERY angry splicer. Jack's eyes widened as he felt the massive well of Adam in the splicer seemed to _flex_.

"Oh shi-"

Jack was cut off as Eleanor let out a roar of rage and released a massive wall of heat burning everything away.

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**Don't forget to review!**


	13. Chapter 13

These people...they weren't human! They were monsters! Agent Sullivan Roddenberry had never seen such power wielded so easily at the hands of a man and girl. Unfortunately, he would never see it again. Having never encountered the power of ADAM before, Agent Roddenberry had no time to scream, much less move, as the wall of flame instantly fried him.

* * *

Jack groaned in pain- God, it was like fighting Atlas again. Every attack was telegraphed and easily predictable, but there was just so much ADAM behind the attacks that it didn't matter if the attacks missed- you still got destroyed. It could have been much worst though- if he hadn't felt that splicer's ADAM react, he wouldn't have had time freeze himself. As it was, the barrier of ice was what kept the flame from turning him into a flaming, well-done human steak.

Unfortunately, Jack had no time to rest. He felt his body lurch as if some invisible hand had wrapped around his waist and grabbed him. The next thing he knew, his entire body was flying forward...into the waiting hands of Eleanor Lamb.

All air was cut off from his lungs as the girl's hands wrapped around his throat. Jack wasn't surprised at the iron-grip the relatively small girl had on him. _Of COURSE_, she _HAD_ to have spliced herself up with super strength. For once, Jack wished that people had regular, human strength but noooooo, that would be too easy wouldn't it? Nope, better throw a dozen muscle and sport boost tonics on top of her overly powered plasmids, just to "even the odds". Vaguely, Jack wondered: if the girl had telekinesis strong enough to pick up a person, why didn't she do this before?

No matter, he was here now and he was going to die unless he did something fast. It was time for a stupid plan.

Reaching out with his left arm, he put his hand in front of splicer's face. The girl cocked her head, as if saying, "What are _you _planning to do?". Her grip tightened, clearly saying that she wasn't going to let go even if he electrocuted her or lit her face on fire. Luckily, Jack wasn't planning anything like that- that would be the "smart" thing to do. Instead, he put a cyclone trap.

On her face.

The trap immediately activated, sending him flying to land (painfully) a distances away. The beauty of surprise- Eleanor clearly wasn't expecting the unpleasant sensation of swirling air trying to go up her nose and mouth. Jack coughed painfully, as he massaged his throat. It wasn't exactly the best plan though- he could barely move his legs and his right arm felt broken.

Eleanor clearly picked up on his weakness. Instead of teleporting or pulling him towards her, she slowly walked towards Jack, taking her sweet time as she used her telekinesis to pull a rock out and break it into a sharp rock-dagger.

Jack's eyes quickly scanned the area around him before landing on his old trusty lawn chair- it was still intact. He smiled, as he used his telekinesis to pull a small wooden chair and threw it at the splicer.

Eleanor didn't even bother to dodge- did he really think that a small wooden chair would succeed where bullets and fire had failed? She almost laughed at the idea- until the chair hit her and the six proximity mines strapped underneath it detonated.

_KA-BOOOOOOOM!_

Eleanor didn't even get to scream- the flame had seared her throat shut. She was blind- her eyes had been instantly liquefied by the initial explosion. The force of the mines sent her tumbling away, her body a jellowy mush of broken bones and destroyed muscles. Her Adam immediately kicked in, absorbing the fire and regenerating her destroyed limbs.

Delta took the opportunity to speak in the lull of combat. **Eleanor! Stop this! Get a hold of yourself!**

But Eleanor heard nothing. If before she was semi-aware, the now, she was an animal. Her rage left her devoid of all conscious thought. The only thing she could feel now was the uncontrollable hunger to KILL this man that had put her in so much pain.

She leapt to her feet, her eyes and body completely regenerated in all of her nude glory. She scanned the battlefield- There! Her eyes lay upon Jack crouching in a field, holding his hand in pain. Without hesitation, she teleported behind Jack, put her hands together and struck a flame-charged hammer blow...through him? The blow went straight through Jack's body and hit the ground, leaving an enormous crack, but no dead Jack. In fact, 'Jack' looked strangely transparent...

**A DECOY!  
**

"Hit it Marie!"

Eleanor had no time to react as lightning slammed into her and put her into a world of pain.

* * *

Jack looked on dispassionately as the splicer took the full brunt of the electric assault. In her nude, unarmored form, she had no chance of any resistance.

Not like it would have made much of a difference. If Jack could keep only one gun from Rapture, it would be the Chemical Thrower. The only one of its kind in both the world and Rapture, it was, in Jack's humble opinion, the greatest weapon that Rapture had ever developed- even more so than Adam. What else could even come close to matching its power? It's flame thrower and ice freezer made killing hordes of splicers easy. And it's electric gun! That electricity turned Big Daddies from nigh-impenetrable fortresses to annoying nuisances. It made even Atlas, the epitome of ADAM's power, go from an invincible God to nothing more than a hyped-up Splicer. If distilled water wasn't so damn hard to find, Jack would have thrown away all the guns and ADAM in the world for the Chemical Thrower.

Needless to say, Jack was quite fond of the gun. It was for this reason that he painstakingly worked to figure out an alternative ammo for the weapon. Without any more electric gell, Jack sought to utilize the Chemical Thrower as a conductor for the electric grid. No more distilled water needed- just plug it in and fire away baby! It was much harder to actually implement, especially since he didn't even fully understand how Julie Langford managed to get the Chemical Thrower to shoot electricity in the first place.

The results were clear though, as the crazy splicer could testify. She was absolutely powerless as the steady stream of deadly electricity disabled her nerves and left her paralyzed.

"That's enough Marie," Said Jack. Marie quicky turned the Chemical Thrower off. As soon as the stream of death was cut off, the splicer collapsed to the ground like a cut puppet, not even twitching. Jack nodded in satisfaction- it was time to put the bitch down. Picking up his shotgun, he limped over to finish the job.

Inside Eleanor's head, Delta saw the danger. **ELEANOR! **He shouted. **FIGHT IT! MOVE! RUN!**

But no matter how hard Eleanor tried, she couldn't move. She no longer felt pain- the electricity had fried all of her nerves. It had destroyed her nerve clusters and made her completely paralyzed. All she could do was watch helplessly as Jack walked up to her and put his shotgun against her head and say one word.

"Goodbye."

**ELEANOR!**

_BANG!_

Eleanor knew no more as everything went black.

**THE END**

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Just kidding.

* * *

Jack calmly leaned on his shotgun as he stared down at the headless splicer. The point blank blast had ripped her head clean off and turned it into a pile of shredded mush. She was, beyond a doubt, dead.

"Damn..." Said Marie as she walked up to the decapitated girl. "Who was she?"

"A splicer no doubt. We'll never know any more-" Began Jack. Then he stopped. His eyes bulged and his mouth dropped open.

"What?" Asked Marie, before she looked down and froze. "Holy...Holy shit! That's...that's impossible!"

_Apparently not,_ thought Jack. In front of their very eyes, the base of the splicer's neck shifted and bulged. Skin and flesh pushed out of the exposed skin, shifting and forming into a roundish shape. Within minutes, the girl's head had regenerated with a peaceful expression remained across her face. It was as if, instead of having her head blown off, the girl had simply gone to sleep.

"Jesus Christ..." Breathed Marie. "This girl isn't some random splicer. That kind of regeneration..."

_Was like that of a Little Sister_. Jack finished, in his head. Thinking fiercely, he made his decision and pulled out a long syringe.

Marie took in a deep breath. "Is that what I think it is?"

Jack nodded. Although his daughters were no longer Little Sisters, Schlong's mental conditioning left...permanent damage. Occasionally they would have nightmares or day terrors in which they would become...unstable. The sedative should ensure that this crazy splicer -if that what she really was- would stay out for a couple of hours.

"Gather your stuff Marie," He said, as he injected the drug. "We need to get out of here before the officials show up."

He watched as the splicer's muscles went slack. "And I want some answers."

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(A/N: And so the fight ends, with Jack victorious.

I've been getting a couple ofcomments about short chapter lengths, particuarlly with this fight scene. I think I understand where you guys are coming from, so I'm going go ahead and ask to all: Do you guys prefer short chapters and fast update rates or longer chapters and slightly slower update rates? Furthermore, how long do you prefer the chapters to be? Right now I'm trying to hit at least a thousand words per chapter, once everyday. If I increase the length, it would probably have be at least one chapter every two days.

Please tell me what you guys prefer- thanks!)


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N: Thanks to Big Sister K, shinigamichild, blue rumbler, Shadow700, Sj, crazymike 98 and bbdokomunikaman0123456789 for you reviews. You guys motivate me to write!**

**So, shortish chapter this time around. I cut it short since it was starting to drag a bit, but luckily that means I'll be able to post a longer chapter faster! :D**

**Another thing: I've been getting a couple of reviews about Eleanor's regeneration ability- how she seems like a unrealistic super soldier. I appreciate you guys telling me your concerns so I've decided to go ahead and address what my thoughts are about the fight.**

**The truth of the matter is that Eleanor comes off as a super soldier because I view her as a super soldier. As many of you probably know, the Summon Eleanor Plasmid in Bioshock 2 is ridiculously powerful. Once you get it, as long as you have eve, you really don't even need to fight. Half of the time you'll enter a room and everyone is already dead! With that in mind, I see it as "canon" that Eleanor pretty much everything.**

**So that's why when I wrote my fight scene, I strove to make Eleanor seem as ridiculously overpowered as possible. Since Eleanor is the main character of this story, many people seem to think she is the hero. While that may be true, I would like to remind people that the protagonist is not always the true man of the show- as great classics like Fitzergald's "The Great Gatsby" shows us. **

**Having said that, a cookie to whoever can figure who's the "star" of that fight scene. In the mean time, on with the chapter!)**

Agent Burningham grimaced as he stared down at the burnt corpse. The body had only a few scraps of burnt clothing to cover the black, cracked skin. A patch of dirty blonde hair was all that was left on top of a mostly bald head- the scars made it obvious that the rest had been burnt off. A coronner was performing a quick diagnosis to verify who the man was but Burningham knew who it was. The heat and flame may have burnt and warped the man's face to the point of indistinguishably, but Burningham could recognize one of his subordinates no matter what the circumstance.

"Yup, that's Agent Sullivan Roddenberry," said the coroner, confirming Burningham's suspicions. He continued speaking as he put each of what remained of Robert's personal effects inside large, clear plastic bags. "We'll have to take him down to the lab and perform a full autopsy to be one hundred percent sure though. Preliminary analysis is that he was burnt to death."

"Thank you," responded Buringham. "You may go."

As the forensic specialist left, Sapper spoke. His voice no longer held that excited optimistic tone that most youth had. Instead, his tone was morose and his face slighty green as he said, "Shit man. How could of this happened to Sullivan? He was such a great guy, man. He was just doing his job..."

Burningham frowned, his expression crossed. What the hell was the academy teaching these days? One little burnt corpse and all professionalism went out the window. Honestly, cursing at the job? Kids these days...Oh how Burningham wished for the good old days when people actually knew the meaning of respect.

Burningham put those thoughts away- he had a job to do and he couldn't have his subordinates distracted. "Agent Sapper," Burnignham said firmly, pulling the young man's attention away from the crispy sack of meat that was once a man. "Do you have the reports from the lab yet?"

Burningham was terrible with kids (or at least that's what he viewed these green fools as), but his words seemed to have done the trick. Sapper's expression quickly became focused as his training came in. "Yes sir, I do sir," He said hurridly as he pulled out the reports. "Early analysis confirms that its the same situation as the last time. Witnesses in the town nearby reported a huge plume of flame rising over the treetops, around the field where codename O'Brien lives. Evidence points that the ground was once again burnt by a huge heat wave, vaporizing everything in the path including Agent Roddenbery."

"Another freak heat wave, hmm? Any news on our mysteriously abandoned teenage girl?"

"Nothing new sir. All we have is Agent Roddenberry's last report- that a girl matching those descriptions was on her way to O'Brien's house. We don't have anything more than that."

It was a shame Roddenberry died, mused Burningham. He could have potentially cleared all confusion with whatever he saw. Of course, that would be too easy wouldn't it? "Is that all?"

"There's more sir. One witness, an old man who lives about half a mile away from O'Brien's home reported hearing gunfire and explosives. He claims there were submachine guns, shotguns, revolvers and..." Agent Sapper paused, as if unsure he was reading correctly. "And, I quote, 'some kind of explosive propellent device.'"

Agent Burningham raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a specific description."

"The old man claims he's a veteran of two world wars and a firearms expert. Mind you, sir, he is quite a bit into his years..."

"Just because you're old doesn't mean you're deaf," Scoded Burningham. Once again he cursed the youth of this day and age. He himself had been part of a world war and at his age, he could be considered 'quite a bit into his years' as well. "From his descriptions it sounds like we had our own little war back here. All that firepower would have left something behind."

"That's the problem sir," Said Sapper. "The freak heat destroyed everything. Casings, bulletholes, guns- anything that forensics could have used to verify if there was a gun fight. Even the stone walls that used to be out in this field...the heat vaporized the bonding material and since most of the stone was old and decaying, the drastic temperature shifts shattered all the walls, leaving us with a bunch of rubble and no evidence."

"What about O'Brien's home?"

"Pretty much untouched, though the ground in front of the home was pretty much wrecked from whatever happened here."

Burningham sighed. "And I guess since you haven't mention O'Brien himself, you don't have him in custody?"

Sapper nodded sheepishly. "Neither he or his daughter Marie were at home when we arrived and none of the witnesses reported seeing them. We're pretty sure they're still alive since we haven't found any corpses. Since one of their registered cars is missing and their rooms look like they're missing a good amount of clothes, its possible they may be on vaction or enaging in a similar activity. None of the townspeople could confirm that, but then again, O'Brien doesn't seem to socialize much. By all acounts, O'Brien and his family were no were near this location last night..."

"But...?" Buringham prompted.

A fire seemed to have lit in Sapper's eye and his voice had that excited youth to it again. "Shortly after the flame was witnessed, all power went out in the town. It took about an hour before it was restored. Our analysist were able to determine that it was power overload of the city grid. But get this- I did a little digging and backtracking and I found that the power overload occurred because there was a massive jump in electrical consumption in one single, specific location..."

Seeing that Sapper was waiting for him to finish the sentence, Burningham let out a weary sigh. "At O'Brien's home?"

"Yes sir!" Said Sapper with a wide smile. Burningham mentally rolled his eyes at his juvenile excitement. "Someone had to be in the O'Brien home that night- O'Brien has to know something! The huge amount of electricty could be powering whatever is causing these freak waves. O'Brien could be involved in this- heck, he could be the one who started this whole thing!"

"Get a hold of yourself son!" Burningham's commanded sharply. "First, the electricity and the heat are not necessarily connected- the last freak heat wave had no odd electrical activity. Second, just because something happened in a man's home doesn't mean that man knows anything about what happened. O'Brien could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sapper blushed and scratched his spiked hair embarrassed. "Sorry sir. I just thought he might be a lead."

"That he is, Sapper." Burningham turned and began walking to his car. "Come. Perhaps our old friend O'Brien has some answers. If I know him, he won't be far from here."

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	15. Chapter 15

**(Thanks to Big Sister K, shinigamichild, blue rumbler, tuxedohobo, crazymike 98, Shadow700, Lunatic Pandora1, bbdokomunikaman0123456789, Robert DeWarren, gameing outcast, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, and Rickmer for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!**

**Now, I was actually finished with this chapter yesterday...but it has gone through a couple of changes since then. Although I feel I've improved the scene, I'm still not satisfied with how it turned out- so tell me what you guys think!)**

Eleanor jerked awake as she was jolted by a small charge of electricity. Her vision was murky and her head hurt terribly: she could feel another head-splitting migraine coming on. She couldn't think or see straight- for a split second she thought she was still being horribly electrocuted by that...that _thing_. She couldn't even remember what it looked like- it was as if there was a dense fog around her head, blocking everything out.

Then a voice spoke, splitting through the fog. "Rise and shine girl, rise and shine."

Eleanor looked up, her eyes squinting as they focus the blurry vision. Jack Ryan certainly looked like he had better days, though for someone who had been fighting for his life the night before, he looked remarkably well. His right hand was in a cast and poised next to a switch on the wall- no doubt the trigger for the voltage Eleanor had just felt. Eleanor's eyes, however, were attracted to the revolver hanging loosely in his left hand.

"I hope you've had a nice nap," Said Jack, his voice low and menacing. "Because I want some answers."

Eleanor tried to speak but only a muffled, incomprehensible sound came out- her mouth had been gagged with a ball of cloth. Looking down, Eleanor realized she was bound tightly to a chair by multiple steel wires. Beneath the wires she wore a simple white tunic, like those worn by patients in a hospital. They did nothing to soften the cutting pain of the tight wires on her skin.

Jack noticed Eleanor observing the wires. "Sorry about that," He said, not sounded sorry at all. He gave a nod to the wires. "We didn't want you disappearing on us anytime soon. Those wires contain an minor electric charge that will prevent you from dematerializing with your Houdini Plasmid. We may have to up the voltage... depending on how cooperative you decide to be."

The fog was starting to clear up and she could now feel the charge of electricity going through her body. It wasn't painful, but the discomfort was enough that Eleanor didn't dare try to teleport- dematerialization and electricity were not a good mix. She tried to flex her muscles but, to her shock, found she couldn't move her body. To her horror, her arms and legs were all misshapen limbs, folded in the wrong directions with multiple bumps in her skin from misplaced bones.

"Don't even think about it," Jack commanded, his revolver now pointing straight between Eleanor's eyes. "See, up here on the surface, when a crazy splicer attacks you, you make sure they can't do it again. I've taken the liberty of breaking every bone in your arms and legs. Then, when your magnificent regeneration kicked in, I deliberately set your limbs wrong, ensuring that they would regrow incorrectly and uselessly."

Eleanor felt a touch of fear in the bottom of her stomach. Trying to keep calm, she went to the only person she felt safe with. _Father? Are you there? _She thought._  
_

The response was instant. To Eleanor's surprise, Father's normally stoic voice was filled with relief and worry. **Eleanor! Thank God you're alright. I was afraid that the electricity and shotgun blast had done irreparable damage to your mind**

Now Eleanor was scared. The situation must be _really_ bad if Father was worried.

_I'm think I'm fine Father, but I have no idea what happened. The last thing I remember was seeing Jack Ryan's face then...red._

Now that Eleanor was clearly fine, Delta's voice returned to its normal unemotion and bland tone- a move that restored Eleanor's confidence, which was no doubt his intention. He went straight to buisness. **Sophia Lamb had placed a kill trigger in your mind. When you saw Jack's face, the mind conditioning forced you to attack.**

_And I lost? How did that happen?_

**The kill trigger also removed your ability to plan and think rationally. You were nothing more than a rampaging splicer, all brute force and no strategy. It is no surprise that this Jack Ryan killed you.**

_What?_

**You were killed Eleanor, or at least as close as you'll ever be. That Jack Ryan took a shotgun and removed your head.**

_He blew my head off! Impossible! How am I still alive?_

**Your powers of regeneration have exceed all expectations. Still, this Jack is not a man to be taken lightly. Even though your fighting prowess was impaired, he outplayed you on all accounts. You need to-  
**

Delta's words were cut off as a massive bolt of electricty jumped through the wires. Eleanor shrieked in surprise as her whole body seized briefly before the voltage died down to a mild hum.

"Quit daydreaming!" Jack's voice was sharp as a knife. He flicked the switch off and reached up and took out the gag. Eleanor spat and sputtered, trying to get the foul taste of the rag out of her mouth. Jack waited for a brief moment before snapping his fingers to get her attention again. "Now, I want you to focus and answer my questions. Who are you?"

**Tell him nothing. We do not know his views on Rapture or how he will react.**

Eleanor mentally acknowledged Delta and fired her own question. "Are you Jack Ryan?"

_B-zzzzzzzzzrt! _Eleanor screamed in pain as Jack flipped on the electricity.

"I'm the one asking the questions!" Jack snapped as Eleanor recovered from her dosage of the first punch. In the back of his mind, Jack noted that the splicer was coming out of her convulsions faster- her ADAM was already building up her resistance to shock. "Who are you?"

Eleanor, of course, did not notice any increase in resistance- she felt only pain. Electricity...she had never before felt such fear for it. Of course, she had been electrocuted more times in the last 24 hours than she had been in her entire life combined. Her voice was weak now- she was having trouble controlling her jaw and tongue. Still, with Delta's reassuring words in her ears, she spoke. "Someone looking for Jack Ryan-"

_B-zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzrt!_

Eleanor gritted her teeth and bit back her scream, letting out only a whimper of pain this time as the electricty coursed through her body once again. This time Jack let the high voltage run twice as long before lowering it back a the mild charge. When he spoke again, though, his voice was calm and collected.

"Alright, let's try something easier. What is your name?"

Eleanor hesitated. Did Jack know Sophia Lamb? If she told him her name would it help her cause or doom her?

Seeing the splicer hesitate, Jack reached up to flick the switch and light her up again. The splicer cringed at the movement and hurridly cried, "Eleanor! It's Eleanor..."

Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief at Jack's blank reaction. She hadn't know how Jack would have reacted to her name. She suppose no reaction was the best she could hope for.

"Good. Another easy question. Are you from Rapture?"

Eleanor nodded weakly, panting heavily. Father's words were now doing little to ease her fear. Looking at Jack's impassive face, she began to remember the pain as she was lit on fire over and over again. In her world of fire and flame, she could only see Jack's stoney, impassive face.

"Hm. A splicer who remembers her own name. That's good. Shows that you still have some rational thought." Jack spun his revolver, watching as this Miss. Eleanor's eyes tracked the movement. "So why did you attack me?"

Again Eleanor hesitated. "I...I..." What could should she tell him? 'My biological mother put a trigger in to kill you but I'm okay now?'

"You what? We don't know each other, or at least I don't know who you are. What could possibly cause you to attack me without provocation?"

"I don't...I didn't..." Another migraine was coming on, Eleanor could feel it. Combined with the stress and fear and pain, it was hard for Eleanor to think straight. But as Jack's hand once again reached for the switch, she broke. "I couldn't help it!" She screamed.

Jack was silent as Eleanor continued speaking. It was as if a dam had broken and all her emotions were pouring out. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she sobbed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I can't control myself anymore. My head...God they're so loud! My mind's not my own. I want to be free but I can't! My mother..."

Eleanor visibly trembled. "She's always there! She's always watching! She's always in control! I can never be free! I'm always...there's always...it's impossible- God! Please, if you are Jack Ryan, please help! I'm begging you, you're the only one who can help me! To set me free..."

Eleanor's voice died off, as the emotional outpour left her exhausted. The room was silent, save for Eleanor's quiet sobbing- Jack was speechless at the unexpected outburst. He opened his mouth, but before Jack could respond, both he and Eleanor froze. Their gene-tonic enhanced hearing could easily pick up the rolling wheels of the incoming cars. Seconds later, Marie Ryan ran in, only brief glancing at Eleanor's tear-stained face. "Dad! We've got company."

"I know." Jack's mind whirling fiercely. They were in a bad position right now- if the government saw Eleanor, the wrong conclusions were sure to be drawn. He turned to Marie. "Quick, get a wheel chair and bring it here! Hurry!"

As Marie ran out of the room, Jack turned to Eleanor. "Look, you want my help right?" Eleanor nodded mutely, holding back her tears. "Good. Then when these guys come, don't do anything stupid. Just shut up and follow my lead. Okay?"

With that, Jack ripped the electric wires away and lifted Eleanor and placed her in the wheel chair. Pushing the girl to the front, the two went to greet their guest.

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	16. Chapter 16

**(Thanks to blue rumbler, shinigamichild, Big Sister K, Shadow700, Lunatic Pandora1, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Orianbeter, Bio team2, JCLoracio, crazymike 98 for your reviews- you guys motivate me to write!)**

_Ding Dong!_

"His eldest daughter's home?" Said Sapper, as both he and Burningham waited patiently outside of Jocelyn's door. "What makes you think he'll be here?"

Agent Burningham raised an eyebrow, surprised that Sapper knew where they were. "Have you read the file on O'Brien?"

"As much was available sir. I figured since you kept mentioning his name it would be a good idea for me to know more about him. Unfortunately though, the file wasn't very descriptive." Sapper's unspoken question was clear.

Perhaps Sapper wasn't such a fool after all, mused Burningham. Feeling generous, Burningham decided to throw him a bone. "Codename O'Brien was before your time with the agency, so it of course you wouldn't know," Stated Burningham as he rung the door bell once again. "But if you had ever met O'Brien, you would know immediately that O'Brien's family is the center of his life. No, it IS his life. If he's not at his home, he'll be at one of his daughter's home."

Before Sapper could respond, the door opened and the man in question stood in front of them.

"Well, I be damned!" Exclaimed Jack Ryan. His right arm was in a wrist cast and he had a couple of brusies, but beyond that he looked healthy and happy. He had a wide smile on his face as he shouted, "Burningham! How long has it been since I've seen you? A couple of years?"

Burningham smiled- actually smiled. It creeped across his face slowly and awkwardly- as if the old man hadn't practiced the motion much. "Too long Jack, too long." He gestured to Sapper. "This is Agent Sapper. We need to ask you a couple of short questions, if that's alright with you. May we come in?"

"Certainly!"

The three men entered the home and walked into the main dining room. At the dining room table sat a young woman and two teenager girls, one of them in a wheel chair and wearing a hopsital gown. Jack gestured to two unoccupied seats before sitting at the front of the table.

"Burningham, you remember my daughters," Said Jack, gesturing to the Hispanic teenager and the young woman. "My youngest daughter Marie and my eldest daughter Jocelyn. Marie, Jocelyn, this is Agent Burningham and his associate Agent Sapper."

Burningham nodded. "Yes, I do remember. Both of you have grown into fine women since I've last saw you." He turned to Jocelyn. "You're a doctor now I hear? Congratulations on recieving such a difficult position."

Jocelyn smiled and gave a little curtsey. "Thank you sir. It has been awhile."

Burningham turned to Marie. "And here is the youngest of Jack's family! It must be pretty lonely in your house now that your sisters have moved out."

Marie flushed in embarassment. "It's been alright sir. Err...It's good to see you again." She clearly had no recollection of the old agent.

Burningham smiled it what he must have thought to be a kindly manner. It looked like a shark baring his teeth. "It's alright. You were only a little girl when we met. And look at you now! Your father is lucky to have you." He gestured to the girl in the hospital gown in the wheel chair. "And who is this? Did you adopt another daughter Jack?"

Burningham did not fail to notice the invisible current of tension that seemed to passed through the Ryan family. It disappeared as soon as it appeared as Jocelyn gave a smile and tittering laugh. "Oh no sir! This is my patient...Violet. She's from out of town. She was born with a rare condition that has caused all the bones in her limbs to develop incorrectly. We're trying out a new drug so I decided to keep her here at my home to observe the results."

Seeing her cue, Eleanor said nothing but merely nodded in agreement.

"So!" Said Jack loudly, steering the subject to safer waters. "What brings you to the home of my daughter after so many years? You finally found a case that's peaked your interest?"

Burningham ignored the question. Instead, he took out two cigarettes and lit one. "Cigarette?" He offered the other to Jack.

"Don't mind if I do." Jack took the other cigarette and together the two of them took in a deep puff. They sat silently for a minute, filling the air with the smell of burning nicotine. Finally, Burningham broke the silence.

"So what happened to your arm Jack?" Asked Burningham. His tone was conversational but both he and Jack were well aware the interrogation was starting. "You hurt your wrist fishing?"

"Don't let the cast fool you Burningham. I only sprained my arm. Took a nasty tumble down the stairs."

"Why do you have a cast around it?" Asked Agent Sapper, speaking for the first time. "If its really just sprained, you wouldn't need to wear anything."

Jack's face held an amused look to it. "Tell that to Jocelyn. That's the problem with having a daughter as a doctor- you get one little scratch and they go crazy. Kids- it's like they think I'm going to shatter into a million pieces from stubbing my toe."

"Maybe they're right," Challenged Burningham. "Falling down the stairs? That doesn't sound like you at all Jack."

Marie looked at her father with a nervous look but Jack rebounded immediately. "What can I say Burningham? I'm getting on my years now- not as sprightly as I used to be. I'm practically an old man."

Sapper sent his own nervous glance at Burningham. He and the rest of the agents were well aware that Burningham hated being reminded of his age- especially by those younger than him. To his surprise however, Burningham gave a booming laugh. It sounded like the collective cawing of a murder of crows.

"You're only in your 30s Jack," Said Burningham in an amused voice. "I'm 53. You don't get to say you're old."

Jack gave his own chuckle before growing serious. "Well, you didn't come all the way here to talk about my age did you Burningham?"

Burningham was silent for a moment as he took another pull from the cigarette. It was time to stop dancing aruond and get to the meat of the discussion. "Are you aware that your property recently has been destroyed?"

"My property? Do you mean my house? What happened?" Asked Jack, feigning bewilderment.

"There was a fire Jack," said Burningham. "Your house has been slightly damaged but most of your land has been practically destroyed."

"My God, was anybody hurt?"

"No," Lied Burningham. Sapper shot him a surprised look but Burningham ignored him. "You didn't know about this at all?"

Jack shook his head. "I've been staying at Jocelyn's home for the last couple of days. Marie and I are taking a little vacation- we're thinking about going on a little fishing trip. I'm trying to convince Jocelyn to come with us. She thinks because she's a doctor she doesn't have time for vacation. But I'm always telling her, 'It's because you're a doctor that you need to take a break!'. After all, we don't want her to make a mistake!"

"I don't think she's going to go Dad, not with her new patient, she isn't." Chipped in Marie.

Jack leaned back in his chair with a smile. "Well, we can always keep trying and pray for a miracle,"

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. In a wirely tone, she said, "_She_ thinks her family should stop talking like she isn't here."

Agent Sapper didn't take kindly to being ignored. With the death of Agent Roddenberry fresh on his mind, Sapper became more and more angry as the exchange between the Ryan family continued on. It didn't surprise Burningham that it only took a minute for Sapper to burst, sending all professionalism out the window. Interrupting the family, his voice was filled with barely restrained anger as he shouted, "Don't give me that bullshit! We know someone was in your home! We have your electrical bills! At the time of the fire there was a huge spike in energy consumption at your home, in your garage! Someone was at your home and we want to know who it was!"

Jack was unfazed by the outburst, but he feigned a face of confusion and fear. "Wait, what, do you think I did started the fire?" His voice was full of disbelief.

Burningham instantly recognized what Jack was trying to do. Of course neither he nor Sapper thought that Jack was trying to burn his own home- they (or at least Burningham) already knew the heat wave and the electricity were not related, as they had seen the same incident at the fishing town. But by introducting an alternative possibility, Jack was trying to make them draw their conclusions that were not their own. A nice attempt, but Burningham was not fooled.

Sapper, on the other hand, fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Despite the fact that arson was never brought up, he leapt onto it as a inadvertent admission of guilt. "There are lots of reasons why someone would torch their own property! Money is a good one- you could have burnt your own land for insurance reasons-"

"Money!" Jack interrupted. He had a hurt expression on his face that, to Burningham, looked completely out of character. "I don't think you understand! That house was my life! I loved every stick of furniture in that place. That was not just a bunch of stuff that got destroyed, it was ME!"

Great. Now Jack was getting "emotional". Buringham was pretty sure he was faking- his "anguish" sounded suspiciously like it came from a movie. Still, Sapper was treading on dangerous waters- the rookie obviously wasn't aware of their "agreement" with Jack. They couldn't risk angering the man lest they suffer severe consequences.

From their own organization.

"Regardless!" Burningham's voice boomed out, cutting off Sapper. "Regardless, we are NOT accusing you of burning your home Jack- in fact, your home is completely fine. It's just your property that's been burned."

Agent Sapper opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it as sent Burningham sent a withering glare at him. It was a look that said, _I WILL be having words with you later._

"Funny..." The two agents turned to look at Jack who had a sly expression on his face. "I could have sworn you said my house was 'slighty damaged',"

Burningham mentally swore- Jack really never missed a thing did he? Nevertheless, he rebounded: "Really? Well unless you couldn't live without those stone walls of yours, you must of misheard."

Jack gave a wry smile- as if both he and Burningham were part of inside joke. He spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Oh yes. I love each piece of granite as much as my own daughters. I might have to tell_ someone_ about how much I missed those.

Burningham got the unspoken threat. They needed to stick to the deal, or else. "Of course Jack. In any case, we just came here to ask you a couple of questions and nothing more."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that Burningham," Replied Jack, his voice calm now. "So do you have anymore questions? If you do, we'll be eating lunch soon if you would like to have some." Jack's polite voice hid his amusement at the nonverbal scolding that occurred between the two agents.

"No, that won't be necessary," Said Burningham with a gracious nod. "I just have one more question."

"Ask away."

"Actually, this one isn't for you." To everyone's surprise Burningham turned his attention to Eleanor. "It's for this young lady right here..."

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	17. Chapter 17

**(A/N: WOW. I am super embarassed right now. I thought I uploaded this chapter yesterday...but the upload must have failed. Here's my original A/N)**

**Just a quick update to finish up the showdown between the Rapturians and the Agents. Managed to finish in 2 days- yay!**

**Thanks to Rickmer, shinigamichild, blue rumbler, biohazard436, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Shadow700, crazymike 98, Akane Nagamiya, ZombieDrizzle, Bydo, L1Ghtk1ll3r, Master Daddy V, Bio team2 for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!)**

"Your name is Violet, correct?"

Eleanor gave a small, meek nod, her eyes cast to the floor.

"How long have you been in this area?"

Seeing no one else answer, Eleanor spoke for the first time-her voice was meek and shy. "Not very long sir. Less than a month sir."

Jack was impressed. He didn't know if it was intentional or not, but the transformation from insanely powerful splicer to weak, sick girl was seamless. Her posture combined with her meek voice, avoiding eye contact, and shy demeanor just _screamed_ helplessness. If Jack hadn't been fighting for his life last night, he would have been doing his best to help the poor, defenseless girl- Eleanor's wallflower act just tugged all the right strings in a man's heart.

Burningham, however, appeared not to be affected- most likely because he had lost those heart strings long ago. Leaning forward, he deliberately locked eyes with Eleanor. His voice rumbled like a lion's. "Tell me young girl," He said. "What do you know of the Appleton family?"

While the Ryan family looked at Burningham with confused looks, Eleanor kept her face impassive. On the inside, however, her insides were twisting painfully. Just the mention of the Appleton name brought up the memories of Valentine and all the other Little Sisters, flying through her mind as they bounced violently underneath her skull, as if trying to get out. Even Eleanor's own memories floated into her minds- following Mrs. Appleton around the house like a lost puppy, reading and discussing books with Andrew, pretending to listen to Mr. Appleton, kissing Peter...

It was only due to Delta's soothing voice that allowed Eleanor to keep her wits and deliver a quiet reply to Agent Burningham. "Nothing sir. Who are they?"

Burningham gave a smile- and not one of his kind smiles. It was his predatorial smile, like a tiger preparing to pounce on its prey. Eleanor prepared herself as Burningham opened his mouth and said-

"Oh it's not important. Perhaps you might want to read up on the local news if you're planning to stay here."

Ignoring the confused looks of the Ryan family, Burningham stood up with Agent Sapper quickly following suit. Burningham put out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray and gave a nod to Jack. "Well, that's all I wanted to know old friend. If we need any more information, I'll give you a call."

"Anytime Burningham," Replied Jack, also putting out his own cigarette butt. He was mystified by the last question but hide his confusion under a mask of politeness as he stood up and showed the two agents out. He felt no small amount of relief as when he saw the back of the two- the danger had past.

And as the two agents started their car and drove off, Jack turned to address the next task at hand- to dig into the brain of this crazy splicer.

"Now..." Jack pulled a chair and made himself comfortable, even as he pulled out his revolver and pointed it at Eleanor.

"We need some answers."

* * *

The moment the two agents got into their car and began driving away, Sapper turned to Burningham with a glare and an outraged face. "What the hell sir?" He shouted. "Why did you stop me? We had him where we wanted!"

Burningham kept his voice calm as he replied. "No we didn't. We didn't have anything on him."

"But it's obvious that Jack hasn't been with his daughter!"

"Is it?" Challenged Burningham. "What evidence do we have of that? Did anyone in town see Jack or go to his home in the last week? Oh that's right! There was one person who did! Too bad he's lying in a morgue right now!"

Unwilling to talk about Roddenbery, Sapper quickly changed tactics. "What about the girl sir- Violet? She matches the description of our mysery girl perfectly! Why didn't we arrest her right there and take her in for questioning!"

God, this _boy_ was what they considered a government agent nowadays? "Use your eyes fool!" Burningham snapped. "Didn't you see her limbs? They weren't broken but they were all misaligned. Unless our mystery girl broke all of her limbs and re-grew them incorrectly in one week, its impossible for her to be the same girl involved with the Appleton case!"

"But Jack's home was generating all that electricity! All we need to do is break into his house and look for-!"

Burningham clenched the steering wheel tightly and took a deep breath. He had to keep calm- everybody started somewhere. It would do Sapper no good if he, the superior, simply blew his top. Sapper was a rookie- it was up to Burningham to teach him where he was wrong. Yes, Burningham was _completely_ calm and collected when he interrupted Sapper.

"You stupid rookie!" Burningham shouted, his voice like an erupting volcano. Sapper immediately shranked back, his expression morphing from anger to fear- he looked a child being scolded by his parent. Burningham ignored him as he continued ripping him a new one. "We already knew that the electricity and the heat were not connected. You also knew that we weren't suspecting Jack of anything! He was purposely trying to rile you up and you fell right for it like some kind of redneck bumpkin. And you call yourself an agent!"

There was silence in the car for a few moments, before Sapper worked up his courage again. "I'm sorry sir," He said remorsely. "I got carried away. It won't happen again sir."

Burningham merely grunted in response, though internally he was glad for the apology. Perhaps there was still hope for the fool now.

A couple more moments of silence ticked by before Sapper spoke again. "If you don't me asking, sir," His voice was hesitant, as if afraid Burningham was going to explode again any minute. "Why did it matter that I was accusing Jack?"

Burningham took another deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was calm and "You are aware that codename O'Brien is Jack Ryan, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Did the file you read explain our...agreement with O'Brien?"

Sapper scratched his nose thoughtfully. "Not in much detail sir. All I could get is we're to give him a little bit of leeway."

"It's more than that," Replied Burningham. "For services rendered, we are to avoid digging into O'Brien's life as much as possible. That means no background checks, no questions into his activities, and by God, definitely NO breaking into his home. The man could be a baby-rapeing serial killer and we wouldn't touch him unless he did it right out in the open- and even then, we would let the local police handle it."

Agent Sapper understood now. They had taught about such agreements at the academy all the time. For valuable services or information, the government was willing to turn a blind eye to more...shady characters, so long as they gave up bigger fish to fry. "So I was starting to break the deal by with my accusations."

"Criminals won't give us information if they don't trust us to keep our deals. We're allowed to ask O'Brien questions, but we need to be careful what we say."

Sapper had a pensive look on his face. "Services rendered, sir?"

"That's need to know information." Burningham gave him a look that clearly said _'ask no more if you still want your job.'_

"So should we just leave O'Brien and his family alone?"

"For the most part," Replied Burningham. "Get a man on him to track his movements. If O'Brien or anyone else leaves that home I want to know about it. Tell him to keep his distance though. I don't want to lose another man like Roddenberry."


	18. Chapter 18

**(Thanks to Rickmer, Umbra-Luna, shinigamichild, biohazard436, Lunatic Pandora1, crazymike 98, Shadow700, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, L1Ghtk1ll3r, Big Sister K, blue rumbler, and Zero3921 **  
**for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!)**

"...And that is how I escaped Rapture and ended up on the surface."

The Ryan family sat in silence as Eleanor finished her tale. She was still in sitting in the wheel chair, garbed in a hospital gown that seemed to exemplify her helplessness at the moment. With her misshapen limbs, she would be at the Ryan family's mercy should they decide to have finished her off.

Eleanor fixed her eyes at the family in question. Across from Eleanor, Jack and his two daughters Marie and Jocelyn sat at the dining room, just as they had been when Agent Sapper and Buringham had come. Although the sun had gone down and darkness settled outside the windows, the Ryan family had not moved since Eleanor had begun her tale. Eleanor hoped that was a good sign- repeating her journey to rescue her Father and escape Rapture made her realize just how much Eleanor had to lose if Jack refused to help her.

It was the man in question who first broke the silence. "So this Big Daddy of yours...Delta?" Seeing Eleanor nod in confirmation. "You told us that you managed to teleport him to the boat before the explosives went off. But you didn't tell us what happened afterwards. So what happen to Delta? Did he survive?"

Eleanor kept her face blank but mentally grimaced- she should have known Jack would have picked up on that. She had deliberately avoided mention her Father's final fate- that she had extracted him and placed him into herself. Now that Jack had called her out, Eleanor had no choice but to answer. She desperately needed Jack's help...but what to tell him?

Delta's voice rumbled in the back of her head, echoing his previous warning. **Be careful what you tell him. We do not know how he will react.**

"He...passed away," Eleanor lied, borrowing from the surfacer lingo she had picked up. She made sure to put as much sorrow in her voice as possible. It wasn't hard- all she had to do was remember the feeling that had gripped her body when she thought the memory transfer hadn't worked. "The stress of the combat combined with Sophia Lamb's severing of our bond was too much for him. He died while defending my life and giving me freedom. I owe him everything and I will always remember him."

Jack nodded, appearing to accept her lie. Eleanor breathed a mental sight of relief- it seemed that the Ryan family was completely fine with her.

"You fucking monster."

Perhaps she spoke too early.

"Marie," Jack rubbed his forehead in a tired manner. "Watch your language please."

"Didn't you hear what she said Dad?" Marie cried. She jab her index finger at Eleanor in an accusing manner. "This _bitch_ just admitted to harvesting Little Sisters! She would take an innocent little girl's life just for a little extra power!"

"There was no other choice!" Eleanor struggled to keep her voice calm. She didn't want to shout at the one man who could help her but she knew she had to defend herself. "There weren't enough Little Sisters to boil the water! I had no choice to harvest them, otherwise Father and I wouldn't have been able to escape!"

"Oh, that makes it so much fucking better doesn't it?" Marie swore, her face twisting in hatred. "It's okay to sacrifice a little girl's life, so long as you and your precious little dad make it out alive, you little piece of-"

"Marie!" Jack interrupted, his voice more forceful. "Please calm down. I understand your anger, but we need to consider the circumstances."

Eleanor turned eagerly to Jack, a hopeful expression on her face. Jack was the person she needed to win over anyway- his daughters didn't matter. Glad that Jack was sticking up for her, she spoke in a fast and desperate voice. "Yes, you know how hard Rapture is, Jack! Traveling Rapture alone, you've had to have harvest some Little Sisters too. They don't feel any pain at all- its just like euthanizing a terminally-ill patient-"

"No." Jack interrupted, his voice cold.

"No?" Asked Eleanor, confused. "You thought surviving Rapture was easy?"

"Oh, I know how hard it is to survive in Rapture. But I never once harvested a Little Sister." At her father's declaration, Marie nodded smugly and glared at Eleanor.

"Ever?" Eleanor's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Ever. It is one of the most despicable acts I have ever seen."

Eleanor was silent. It was almost impossible to believe- no it _was_ impossible. There was absolutely no way that a man could enter Rapture and not harvest at least one Little Sister. It wasn't just about greed- it was a matter of survival. Of course, Jack did have the vita-chambers keyed in to himself, making him practically invincible and immortal. But Father, who also was keyed into the vita-chambers, had harvested some Little Sisters. If even Father, the greatest man that Eleanor had even known, the pinnacle of might and morality, had to harvest Little Sisters at first to survive, then Jack must be lying. He must!

**No Eleanor. It means that this Jack Ryan is a greater man than I...because killing a Little Sister is not like enuthanizing a dying patient. It is murder...and I am guilty.**

Eleanor felt a wave of bile rise into her mouth. Was she really such a monster? Was she so terrible that she had committed an act even Father thought was evil? And then she tried to defend like a coward instead of admitting to the atrocity like Father did. She was...she was...

"I don't blame you for it though."

Eleanor's head snapped up to stare at Jack in surprise. Next to him, Marie looked like she had swallowed a lemon as Jack continued speaking.

"A man once told me 'Whatever you thought about right and wrong on the surface, well, that don't count for much down in Rapture'. He was actually trying to get me to harvest the Little Sisters, but he was right. The truth of the matter is that we all become monsters in one way or another after going to that place. I can not condemn you for your actions because what counts as monsters in the surface is what is needed to live in that evil place.

"That is why I'm going to help you."

"WHAT?" Marie and Jocelyn's collective screech echoed across the room as Eleanor's jaw dropped open in surprise. Both Marie and Jocelyn leapt to their feet in anger and confronted their father.

"You can't be serious father!" Jocelyn cried, speaking for the first time since Eleanor began her story. Her calm demeanor seemed to shatter in her distress.

"Yeah, what the hell are you saying Dad! Have you gone crazy? That bitch tried to kill us!" Screamed Marie. "She harvested Little Sisters too! We need to kill her!"

"SIT DOWN!"

Immediately both Marie and Jocelyn shut up and sat down, their eyes wide and fearful. Gone was Jack, the family man- Now sat the product of both Andrew Ryan's genetics and Fontaine's greed. Eleanor could almost feel the power coming off him- it wasn't like feeling a large well of Adam waiting to be tapped. It was like like seeing seeing a lion getting ready to pounce or seeing the dorsal fin of a shark at a beach- all her senses were shouting 'Danger! Danger! Danger!'. Eleanor could now see how this man could have gone through Rapture without harvesting a single Little Sister and still manage to kill Fontaine.

And herself.

"Now, I want all of us to take a deep breath and calm down," Jack's voice was deceptively calm. All the inhabitants of the room knew he was at the limits of his patience. "Is everyone calm now? Good. Now, Marie, Jocelyn, I love both of you with all my heart. You know this right?"

The two sisters nodded dumbly.

"Then please- trust your father's judgement and in this matter. Listen and do not judge. If there is one thing I learned from Rapture, its that second chances are possible for anyone. You two should know this better than anyone."

As the his daughters reflected on his words, Jack turned to Eleanor. "Now before I help you, I have another question."

"Yes! Anything for you help!" Replied Eleanor. She knew she was on, as Andrew Appleton would say, "thin ice".

"Do you know of a Dr. Bridgett Tenebaum?"

Immediately both Marie and Jocelyn sat up straighter. Eleanor understood why- if Jack could be considered their father, then Tenebaum would be their mother.

"Yes!" Eleanor replied, glad she could answer the question. The more information she could give Jack, the more willing he would be to help her. "She was in Rapture when I was there. She was the one who helped me revive my father. I think she went back to Rapture to rescue the new Little Sisters."

Jack sighed. "Just as I suspected. I haven't been in contact with Tenebaum for many years- since she took the older Little Sisters, she struck out on her own after all her children moved out to live on their own. She told me she was going to try and help the world as much as possible. She didn't say it outloud, but I know she still feels that she needs to atone for her creation of Adam and the Little Sisters.

"So when I saw in the news about all of those little girls disappearing all over the world, I knew they were being kidnapped and taken to Rapture. And if I knew about these kidnappings, then so did Tenebaum. I had no doubt in my mind that she had gone back to Rapture."

"Mother was always so regretful for actions," Murmered Jocelyn.

"Yes, she was." Said Jack. "But now I fear she has bitten off more than she can chew. When was the last time you saw her Eleanor? Do you know if she made it out of Rapture?"

Immediately Eleanor recalled the last sighting of Tenebaum. It was Father who had seen her last- his memory of Tenebaum exiting the train booth flashed into her mind. The good doctor's last words echoed in Eleanor's ear: _Goodbye, Herr Delta, und good luck._

"I'm sorry but I don't know," Replied Eleanor, with a shake of her head. "I lost contact with her long before I escaped from Rapture. She could be still alive though."

"Of course she'll still be alive!" Shouted Marie, almost spitting into Eleanor's face. "She went through two World Wars and Rapture's Civil War! It'll take more than some crazy splicer to take her down." She gave Eleanor a pointed look.

Eleanor bristled- this girl was really started to piss her off. "I didn't attack her!" She snapped at Marie.

"Regardless," Jack interrupted, before things could get ugly. "I agree with Marie. I know Tenebaum is still alive down there. And this brings me to my deal. In return for doing the best we can to...cure your condition, you will come with me to Rapture and help me rescue Tenebaum."

To say the women of the room were shocked was an understatement. For Marie and Jocelyn, they couldn't believe that their father was even thinking about returning to the hell known as Rapture. For Eleanor, it was simply unbelievable. She had spent all her life trying to escape to the surface, only to find that she now had to return to Rapture if she wanted to continue living with her sanity.

_What do you think I should do Father?_ Eleanor mentally asked.

**There isn't much of a choice Eleanor, **Rumbled Delta.

Eleanor grimaced. Once again Father was right. With great pains, she opened her mouth and allowed the following words to tumble out of her mouth: "I accept your terms Jack."

Jack smiled. "Good. Now get some rest- we'll need to prepare as much as possible before leaving to Rapture."

In the back of Eleanor's mind, Delta gave a small groan. In a deadpan voice he rumbled, **Great. I needed to pick up more drill fuel anyway.**

**ooo**

**ooo**

**ooo**

**Don't forget to review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**(A/N: Hehe, I'm glad people liked Delta's drill comment last chapter. I was tempted to leave it out since I felt it was slightly ooc but I couldn't help it- I mean, 300 fuel only? No SIR. Come on 2k, at least let us upgrade its capacity with a power to people machine!)**

**CHAPTER 19**

"Alright, now I want you to follow my finger with your eyes as best you can."

Eleanor gave a sigh and complied with Jocelyn's command. True to his word, Jack had done the best he could to help her with her condition. After a short private conversation, the man had managed to convince his daughter Jocelyn to give her constantly checkups these last couple of days. As a certified doctor, it made perfect sense.

"Now I'm going to tap your kneecap. Try to remain as relaxed as possible."

Except it was boring. As hell. Everyday the following routine would occur.

First, Jocelyn would inject her with some new surfacer chemical. Apparently the surfacers had many different medicines to treat mental problems or illnesses. Then, Jocelyn would run numerous test to see the results of the medicine, some boring, some painful, all of them concluding that the surfacer medicine had no affect on Eleanor's condition. Then, Jocelyn would pace and mutter to herself for a time before using a new treatment and starting the process all over again.

It pissed Eleanor off.

It could be worst though: Jocelyn was an amazing doctor- in fact, Eleanor was sure that Jack's daughter was one of the most talented medical genius she had ever seen. If Andrew Ryan was still alive, there was no doubt in Eleanor's mind that Jocelyn would be recieving an invitation to come down to Rapture.

Her anger at Eleanor's actions did not interfere with work either. It seemed that once Jocelyn began to work with patient, she treated the patient as impartially as possible, without any regard for their previous actions. During these appointments, Jocelyn set aside her own personal feelings and strived with all her heart to help cure Eleanor's condition. Outside of the appointments, Jocelyn treated her with cold indifference, burying whatever problems she had with Eleanor under a professional mask.

"Now try to lift your arms up like this please," Jocelyn demonstrated the motion.

Eleanor sighed again and tried to repeat the motion. It was near impossible as her arms and legs were still deformed. Jack had told her that they were leaving her limbs out of commission for as long as possible in case there were federal agents watching. Eleanor had privately scoffed at the lie- Jocelyn's home had very few windows and all of them could be covered with heavy blinds. If anyone was spying on them, they would to have to be standing ten feet from the house- close enough that either Eleanor or Jack could detect them.

Eleanor knew the truth: the Ryan family simply didn't trust her.

She didn't blame them though. Not after their first disastrous attempt to cure her conditions.

* * *

It was the morning after Eleanor's pact with Jack. The entire family was crowded in Jocelyn's private clinic. As a doctor in a small town, Jocelyn had made sure to create her own clinic with all her supplies available in her home.

Eleanor was nervous. She had been dressed in a fresh hospital gown (courtesy of Jocelyn) and now sat in her wheelchair, twitching slightly in apprehension.

The reason for her anxiety was quite obvious. Across from her sat Jack, who unabashedly stared at her, watching her every move. In his left hand, the hum of electricity set Eleanor's hair on ends. Every couple of seconds, sparks flew between his fingers, causing Eleanor to jump. Constantly getting fried by Jack had given her a healthy fear of the hot stuff.

In his other hand, Jack clutched a massive needle. It was humongous- a purple-green liquid seemed to pulse inside the vial. Just glancing at the needle gave Eleanor flashbacks of Lamb and Gil's many experimental injections. In the door frame behind her, Marie stood holding an identical needle, seemingly eager to slam it into the back of Eleanor's head at the slightly sign of trouble.

All of this left Eleanor feeling extremely uneasy...which was no doubt Jack's intention.

Jack held up the needle for Eleanor to see. "This is an extremely powerful tranquilizer," He said. "There's enough drugs in this to knock out a Big Daddy. I'm too sure if you'll survive this much sedative, but if you remain calm we won't have any problems. As extra insurances, I'm going to inject you with a very small amount of this stuff. It won't put you to sleep, but it'll keep you from using your plasmids."

"Is that necessary?"

"Consider it a precaution for ourselves," Said Jack as he injected a tiny amount of the sedative. Immediately, Eleanor began to feel slightly sluggish, her reaction time immediately slowing.

"What are you planning to do?" Asked Eleanor, trying to keep the tremble of fear out of her voice.

Jocelyn step forward. She too was holding a needle, though unlike the other two needles it had a perpendicular handle, making it similar to a gun. Eleanor immediately recognized it as a Little Sister needle. "We'll be using this to extract the ADAM," Jocelyn said, wielding the needle with the same ease only former Little Sisters could replicate.

Seeing her confused look, Jack decided to explain. "The only other person I've seen with as this much ADAM in their body was Frank Fontaine. We defeated him by having the former Little Sisters extract all the ADAM from his body. What we're planning to do is extract most of excess ADAM- not all of it, since that'll kill you. Just enough to get rid of the memory splicing that's going on in your head."

It sounded like a good solution. _Do you think it will work Father?_ Asked Eleanor.

**Of course it will. You should do it immediately. **Delta replied instantly.

Eleanor frowned slightly. For some reason those words did not reassure her. If anything, it made her feel more worried- though she didn't know why. She just had a bad feeling about this whole thing...

"Well, let's get started," Jack declared. He placed down the tranquilizer and turned off his electrobolt plasmid. With his gene-tonic enhanced strength, Jack easily lifted Eleanor from the wheel chair and laid her down onto the bed.

Once Eleanor was comfortable, Jack looked her straight in the eye. "Are you ready?" He asked the violet-haired girl.

Ignoring the queasy feeling in her stomach, Eleanor nodded. "Do it."

"You'll feel a slight pinch, but beyond that you shouldn't feel pain." Declared Jocelyn as positioned herself behind Eleanor's head. Without preamble she gently pushed the needle into the back of Eleanor's neck.

Eleanor winced slightly at the initial puncture, but the small pain was instantly drowned out by the feeling of relief. It was like someone had been slamming a hammer into her head over and over, and with every needle jab, the hammer was swung with less and less force. The voices in her head became quieter and quieter until she almost couldn't hear them all.

It was actually very relaxing. As Eleanor laid back, she realized it was like getting an amazing massage.

_I don't know I was so worried, Father. _Eleanor said, feeling a bit silly for her paranoia. _It's like taking a bubble bath with Mrs. Appleton._

**Yes. It is good that it is relaxing.**

Eleanor frowned. Was it just her or was Father's voice quieter than usual. _Father? Is something wrong?_

**No. Nothing is wrong. **Delta's voice was even smaller than before. It was like he was walking away, his voice drifting off in the distance.

Off in the distance...

Concentrating through the drugs and the relaxing ADAM withdrawal, Eleanor realized she could barely feel Father's presence. Normally it was like a bright star, a light that shine through the darkness. Now it felt like a flickering lamp, feeble in its attempts to pierce the moonless night.

_Father? _Eleanor called out, feeling a dip pit of fear in her stomach. _Father! _She called out louder.

There was no response, but Eleanor could still feel Father's presence in the back of her mind, barely. It was like he was drawing away...

And then it hit Eleanor like a lightning bolt- Father's essence was being extracted.

"Stop..." Eleanor mumbled, the drugs making it hard for her to speak.

Jocelyn glanced up at Jack. Seeing Jack nod for her to continue, Jocelyn plunged the needle in again.

"Stop." Eleanor said, more firmly, awkwardly trying to twist her neck away. Jack leaned in and held her still, while non-verbally indicating Marie to prepare to tranquilize Eleanor. Jocelyn continued to withdrawal Adam.

And then Delta's presence disappeared from Eleanor's mind.

The result was instantaneous. "STOP!" Eleanor screamed. Jack, Jocelyn and Marie had no time to react as Eleanor's telekinesis, despite the drugs Jack had given her, reached and _pushed._ The Ryan family flew away from Eleanor as the crazed twisted and turned, trying to pull the needle out of her a neck. It was quite an accomplishment, considering her limbs were still misshapen. Loud cracks could be clearly heard as Eleanor's wild thrashing broke her own limbs.

"STOP! STOP! STOP!" Eleanor kept screaming, as she continued to thrash about. Her telekinesis continued to fling out wildly as the poor girl lost all control. Anything that wasn't tied down was picked up by the rampant powers and flung about the room, creating a mini-tornado of clipboards, needles, pencils and other household items. More cracks could be heard as Eleanor shattered more bones in her blind panic.

Delta's voice split through Eleanor's blind panic, his voice loud and angry. **Eleanor! Stop it! **

_Father! _Eleanor shouted in her mind. _It's killing you!_

**Damn it Eleanor! **Delta shouted back. **Forget about me! This is your best chance to cure your condition! **

_NO FATHER! _Eleanor screamed. _I'm not going to let you die!_

**You'll lose your mind without this!**

_I WON'T BE ABLE TO LIVE WITHOUT YOU!_

Before Delta had a chance to answer, Eleanor felt a needle slam into the side of her neck. Although the drugs did not prevent Eleanor from using her telekinesis, it had greatly weakened the plasmid. It was for this reason Jack was able to pull himself up and slam his tranquilizer into Eleanor. The crazed girl went limp and the flying items immediately fell to the ground as the uncontrolled telekenisis was cut off.

"Is everyone alright?" Asked Jack.

Marie gave a groan as she pulled herself. "Just a few scratches. But what the hell just happened?"

"It looks like withdrawing her ADAM in such a forceful manner cause a violent reaction," Replied Jocelyn. She placed a hand on Eleanor's chest and grimaced at the number of broken bones she felt. She turned to Jack. "Father, we can't use this method. Not if we want Eleanor to be able to help us find Tenebaum after this."

Jack sighed. "I knew it wouldn't be this easy. Help me bend her arms and legs before she regenerates. We don't want her to be able to use limbs."

With those words, the Ryan family set to work, even more wary of their violet-haired prisoner.

* * *

Jocelyn snaped her fingers in front of Eleanor's face, drawing her attention. Eleanor blinked rapidly, trying to clear her head- her condition was getting worst. The flashbacks were getting longer and more frequent.

Jocelyn noticed this as well. "Has problems concentrating..." She said outloud while jotting it down in a notepad.

Eleanor scowled. "You already knew that. It's hard to focus with all the voices in my head. The medicine you gave me yesterday didn't work."

"Yes, I know," Remarked Jocelyn in a dry tone. She pulled out a needle and withdrew a light green liquid from a vial. "If it had worked you would have been a drooling vegetable right now."

There was a brief pause as Eleanor gave Jocelyn her utmost attention, staring warily at the needle in Jocelyn's hand. "Seriously?"

"No." Jocelyn's tone was still dry as she jabbed the needle into the back of Eleanor's neck and injected it. "Most of the medicine I've been giving you is used on the surface to treat mental disorders such as Schizophrenia or Multi-Identity Disorder. The introduction of ADAM, however, adds an entirely new variable that renders most of these chemicals useless. If it the medicine is not strong enough, it has no affect. If it is too strong, your ADAM immediately reacts and attacks the chemical, burning it away before it can do anything."

"So..." Eleanor winced as Jocelyn pulled the needle out. This new medicine was apparently too powerful as she felt her ADAM react and begin burning away the foreign chemical. "If you don't expect any of the surfacer medicines to work, why do you bother injecting them?"

Jocelyn took off her gloves with a loud snap before responding with her question, "Would you rather we try nothing?"

Before Eleanor could respond, Jocelyn spoke again. "Well we're done here for now. My father wants to see you though. Here let me help you into the wheelchair..."

At the mention of Jack, Eleanor felt a brief moment of fear- the more time she spent with the Jack, the more she became intimidated by his presence. Eleanor forced herself to remain still as Jocelyn gently picked her up and deposited her in a wheelchair before pushing Eleanor to her destination.

ooo

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ooo

**(Thanks to Bio team2, Bydo, crazymike 98, Zero3921, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Shadow700, shinigamichild, L1Ghtk1ll3r, biohazard436, blue rumbler, Big Sister K, Rickmer for you reviews! You guys motivate me to write!)  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**(Sorry, one day late! Slightly longer chapter though so hope that makes up for it =D )**

Jack was in the garage when Jocelyn brought Eleanor to him. His face was covered by a protective metal mask as he used a welder on... something. Eleanor had never seen it before. At first glance, it looked like a bunch of scraped metal and household items slapped together to create some kind of nozzle. Upon closer inspection, the multiple dials and valves and wires told Eleanor it was much more than some aesthetic piece of art.

Jack flicked the welder off and pulled the mask up to reveal his sweat-stained face. He gave a nod of thanks to Jocelyn. "You can go now Jocelyn," Said Jack, in clear indication that he wished to have a private conversation. Jocelyn released her grip on Eleanor's wheelchair and left the garage, closing the door behind her.

Jack smiled as he wiped his hands. "Well, aren't you going to ask what this is?" He said, noticing Eleanor casting a critical eye on that.

Eleanor immediately looked away from the device. "Am I allowed to?" Her voice was guarded.

Jack gave a chuckle. "Don't you want to know?"

After a few moments of hesitation, Eleanor finally asked, "What is it?"

"This, my friendly neighborhood splicer-woman, is the Chemical Thrower." Jack placed a hand on the top of the weapon. He had a fond smile on his face and he spoke like a proud parent talking about a successful son or daughter. "This is, quite possibly, the greatest weapon that Rapture has ever created. It makes killing splicers like walking through a park and splits Big Daddies in half like a hot knife through butter."

He paid close attention to Eleanor's reaction as he spoke his next words. "This is the thing that nearly killed you."

Inadvertently, Eleanor let out a loud gasp. The memory of that night flashed into her mind, and for a brief moment she felt like she was being electrocuted all over again. She struggled to catch her breath as phantom pains appeared all over body.

A concerned looked crossed over Jack's face. "Are you alright?"

Eleanor ignored his question. "Is this why you called me down here?" She rasped- her throat was suddenly completely dry. "To remind me what will happen if I disobey you?"

"Nonsense." Jack shook his head. "It's broken in any case."

"It's...broken?" Eleanor's voice only held confusion. What was Jack playing at? Why would he tell her something like that? What was the trick?

"Yep, that's what I said. You see, the original creator designed the weapon to use a chemical compound called Electric Gell to produce lightning. Unfortunately, Electric Gell requires distilled water to be created. That stuff was hard enough to find in Rapture- on the surface, its damn near impossible. As such, for the last year or so, I've been trying to reconfigure the weapon to use plain old electricity as ammo. My plan was to be able to plug the thing into the wall and open fire. The ammo would last as long as the electric grid could power it."

Jack scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, it wasn't as easy as it sounds. I didn't make the weapon so I don't even get how it used Electric Gell to create lightning in the first place. I managed to get it working somewhat, as you can clearly testify, but whatever I did wasn't enough. When we used the Chemical Thrower on you, the raw, unaltered electricity pretty much fried all of the internal components. I'm trying to fix it now...but I think this little guy's gone for good."

Eleanor's confusion deepened, which caused her to be more on guard. She didn't understand why Jack was revealing such weakness in front of her...unless...

"So you're showing me this to tell me that I'm so helpless now, you don't even need your Chemical Thrower to kill me?"

Jack shook his head, a wide smile on his face. "Nope, guess again."

Eleanor thought about for a few seconds. "You're hoping that I'll be able to help you repair this weapon for you?"

Jack's smile grew wider. "Nope, sorry, wrong again."

Eleanor was growing annoyed at this game. Why did this Jack Ryan proceed to taunt her so? He had already proven he was stronger, faster, and smarter than her.

Delta's sharp voice cut through her musing. **Eleanor. Your fear is impairing your judgment. He defeated you only because of your condition. If you were operating with a hundred percent efficiency, you would have destroyed him. He is not your better.**

But he was her better, Eleanor thought miserably. Jack was her superior in every way. He had killed Andrew Ryan, he had killed Frank Fontaine, and most importantly, he had killed her.

He was the Alpha.

"Run out of guesses?" Asked the Alpha.

"Just tell me why..." Eleanor's voice was weary- she was tired of playing Jack's game.

Jack smile shrank. "It's because you have nothing to fear."

Eleanor's head jerked up. That was not the answer she was expecting. Seeing her confused expression, Jack elaborated. "I can see the fear in your eyes right now Eleanor. I can see you are afraid of me. I can see you jump everytime I speak. The moment you hear my name, all your walls come up around you, as if you expect me to kill you at any second."

Eleanor blinked. "Well…you did kill me," She whispered softly.

Jack stood up and began pacing, not looking at her. "I'm telling you about the Chemical Thrower because I'm trying to say I'm not your enemy. If we are to go to Rapture together, we don't need to be friends. But we need to at least trust each other enough to be considered allies."

Eleanor understood now. Jack was trying to reinforce their alliance. He was trying to build trust between them to ensure his survival when they went down the hellish hole known as Rapture.

As if reading her mind, Jack stopped pacing and stared at Eleanor. The violet haired teen squirmed under his gaze- it felt like he was staring straight into his soul.

**Do not let your paranoia control you. **

Yet, as if reading Eleanor's mind, Jack suddenly said, "You're not getting it."

Eleanor quickly sought to appease the Alpha- the tremble in her body was from the cold, not from fear! "No, I get it. You're trying to keep your life safe by building an alliance. A united force is stronger than the sum of its parts-"

"No, no, no!" Eleanor cringed at Jack's raised voice. Seeing her fear, Jack's lowered his tone as he spoke again. "I can see now you truly have been raised in Rapture. In that damn city, everyone has an objective. Everyone is trying to exploit everyone else for their own gain. No wonder Rapture failed- everyone was treating greed as if it was a virtue!"

Eleanor remained silent as Jack continued speaking. He seemed to have worked himself in a fervor. "It's that damn Andrew Ryan! His whole ideals of objectivism and self was ass-backwards and contradictory! If a man should look out for only himself, then why should he respect another man's wishes? Why shouldn't he just go in and forcefully take another man's share for himself? After all, the only person that matters is him and no one else! That's exactly why Andrew Ryan betrayed his own god damn ideals. Damn him to hell twice over-no, thrice over!"

Eleanor grimaced. No wonder Lamb and the family respected, no _worshiped_ Jack Ryan. "So you're a collectivist."

"NO." Jack's voice was adamant in his protest. "Collectivist want people to give up everything for some faceless community, to some larger, unknown 'family'. They want you to give up everything you have to help people you probably don't even know the name of! No, you shouldn't look out only for yourself nor should you sacrifice everything for some nameless greater good."

Eleanor was completely lost. "Why are you asking me this? I am completely at your mercy- you beat me and therefore are more powerful than me."

Jack frowned. "And why should that matter?"

Eleanor's voice was calm- she was not angry or bitter. She spoke as if she was speaking an undeniable truth, a principle of the world. "Objectivist, collectivist, it doesn't matter which one is right or wrong. What matters is who has power. Might makes right- those who have strength decide what is right and what is wrong."

Eleanor's hair stood on end as Jack gave a growl of frustration. He clenched his fist and began to take deep breaths. After a few moments, he spoke again, his voice calm.

"And why do you think I have more power than you?" Asked Jack, deciding to pursue a different angle, one he hoped that Eleanor would understand.

Eleanor shrugged, putting on an appearance of indifference. Internally, she was curious herself- as much as she hated the idea, she knew she was suppose to be the genetic superior to everyone else. With her Big Sister powers and excess ADAM, she should have destroyed Jack easily. "I do not know. Perhaps it is because you were genetically created- you could have been breed faster, stronger, and most importantly, smarter than me."

"Wrong. All that was done to me was to speed up my aging and implant false memories and experience. Beyond that I'm a normal human being."

Eleanor's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. That didn't make much sense. If Jack was a normal human, albeit spliced up with a couple of plasmids and tonics, there was no way he could have won. How could he be her superior if that was true? "So how did you beat me?" She asked, wondering if Jack was going to tell her the truth or not.

"Because I have precious people."

So Jack was going to lie- Eleanor was not surprised. Why would you tell the secret to your power to a potential enemy? Still, it was best to appear as if she had fallen for his trick. "Precious people?"

"People that you can trust. People that are willing to tell you everyone of their deepest, darkest secrets. People that you are willing to fight for- To DIE for. Are you telling me you have no precious people?"

Eleanor was silent as she thought about the question. Did she have these mysterious precious people? She suppose Father fit the criteria that Jack had given her...but she wasn't going to tell Jack about him. She still had no idea how he would react to the news- and if this crazy talk about precious people was any indicator, Eleanor would never understand Jack well enough.

"No, I do not have any precious people."

Jack smiled triumphantly. "Well, I do. Every single one of my daughters are my precious people. Each one of the motivates me to push harder everyday, every minute, every second. It is because of them that I get back up everytime and defeat all obstacles in my path...including you."

It sounded like complete bullshit to Eleanor. Still, Jack had reminded her that he had her completely helpless. She would keep playing along. "Well, how can I have precious people? There isn't anyone willing to trust me with their life, nor can I trust anybody with my own. No one has ever talked to me about themselves, much less their 'deepest, darkest secrets.'"

And it was true. No one cared about Eleanor. She was either a political enemy or the savior of the world; everyone only wanted to exploit her to further their own agendas. Only Father cared about her...and she was already protecting him now, with her own body.

Jack was silent for a moment, as if thinking about what Eleanor had said. His brow was furrowed and he stroked his chin as he pondered how to respond. Finally, he spoke.

"Tell me Eleanor...do you know the names of my daughters?"

Eleanor blinked at the odd question. "Um...Jocelyn and Marie?"

"That's two of them. Do you know the names of my other four daughters?"

"Er...No." Her answer was hesitant- what was Jack playing at?

"Do you know how old Jocelyn and Marie are? Do you know why Jocelyn is a doctor? Do you even know why Marie hates you so much?"

Eleanor was starting to get scared again- was she suppose to know the answers to these random questions? "Um...I don't know."

Jack leaned forward and stared at her straight in the eye. "Do you even know why I'm willing to help you?"

Eleanor sought to escape this uncomfortable line of questioning. "I don't know why."

"So you've lived with us for three days and you haven't even bothered to find out why I'm willing to help you?"

Eleanor was tempted to ask the question to Jack now, but she bit her tongue- she didn't want to anger the Alpha. "I don't know."

Jack shook his head sadly. "And that is why you have no precious people Eleanor- you don't even bother to ask them simple personal questions. Because, to you, the only information you need to know is what they can do for you. If you treat them that way, why should they treat you any better?"

Seeing Eleanor's incomprehensible expression, Jack sighed. There was no way he could change this girl. She was too set in her ways. Without another word, he turned around and left the room, leaving Eleanor to her own thoughts.

_What was that about?_

**It is inconsequential. **Replied Delta. **What matters now is your vulnerability.**

_Of course Father. But we already knew that... why are you bringing it up now?_

**Because you are stranded in this room.**

Eleanor looked down at her limbs and tried moving her arms to no avail. To her horror, she was now stuck in this room. She was in a wheelchair but since her arms were broken, she couldn't roll away. She would have to wait until one of the Ryan family remembered to take her out of the room. She truly was at the mercy of the Ryan family.

Eleanor gave out a loud growl of frustration- how embarrassing! She was sure that damn Jack Ryan had done this on purpose. He had left her as a useless cripple and now he was rubbing his superiority in her face. It wasn't fair! That bastard!

Delta rumbled in empathy as Eleanor gave another loud growl of frustration. **Now you understand the true extent of your helplessness. It is clear that the Ryan family will not be resetting your limbs anytime soon. We must fix your paralysis using less...savory methods.**

Eleanor understood what Father meant...and didn't like it. She was no stranger in pain (if she was before, Jack Ryan had made sure to change that) but self-inflicted pain was a whole other can of worms. Still...Father was right. She was helpless now. She needed to change that. She needed her freedom.

She needed her limbs.

With those thoughts, Eleanor grimaced as she reached into her pool of ADAM to grasp her telekinesis. This was going to hurt.

ooo

ooo

**(Thanks to crazymike 98, L1Ghtk1ll3r, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Bio team2, Shadow700, Rickmer, shinigamichild, Bydo, blue rumbler, biohazard436 for your reviews! **

**Reviews motivate me to write, so don't forget to leave one!)**

**(Edited 7/20/12 for spelling and formatting errors)**


	21. Chapter 21

**(A/N: Just to clear up a quick point about the distilled water comment last chapter- I wasn't saying distilled water is rare in real life [though who's to say this world is anything like our world ;) ], I was just making a reference to how hard it is to find distilled water in Bioshock 1: the key ingredient for the best offensive weapon (Electric Gell) and the best defensive weapon (Electric Trap)**

**On with the story!)**

Ignorant to Eleanor's dilemma, Jack stomped away from the garage, fuming. Jack didn't know why he even bothered trying to change the Eleanor. It was absolutely hopeless- power was all that girl knew. After all, she had been raised in Rapture her whole life. As a former Little Sister, the poor girl had experienced first-hand the horrors of Rapture, the abuse of power fostered by greed and insanity. And unlike his own daughters, young Eleanor never had a Tenebaum or Jack to rescue her.

Perhaps that was why he was so willing to help her, mused Jack. He was well aware he had something of a hero complex, always trying to help others. Listening to Eleanor tell her story, Jack couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to his own daughters if they had been left at the mercy of the next dictator of Rapture, this Sophia Lamb. Marie and Eleanor were almost the same age, after all, 16 and 17 respectively. Could his youngest daughter been chosen by this Lamb to become the "first utopian"?

Probably not. Although Eleanor hadn't said anything to the contrary, Jack was sure that she hadn't been chosen by chance. There must have been some kind of relationship between Eleanor and this Doctor Lamb...but then again it hardly mattered to Jack. The girl was a mess and Jack couldn't help but want to give her a hand, just as he helped Jocelyn and Marie and all of his other daughters.

"Dad...can I talk to you for a second?"

Jack looked up at the voice- leaning against the wall with a crossed look on her face, stood the very girl he was thinking about- his daughter Marie. Jack mentally sighed- he had a feeling he knew what this was about.

"Yes Marie?"

She flicked her hair in an angry manner. Without preamble she asked, "Why are we helping that monster Dad?"

Jack frowned. "Watch your mouth Marie," Jack scolded. "If circumstances had been different you could have been in that girl's shoes."

"I doubt that. _I _wouldn't have been heartless enough to harvest Little Sisters, no matter what the situation was."

"Curb your tongue girl! You have no idea what you're talking about. While Eleanor's actions are regrettable, you will not judge her while I am in earshot. You will call her by her name or I will be forced to discipline you." Jack's voice was dripping with barely constrained anger. He was already frustrated with one obstinate child, he did NOT want to deal with another. "Now, if that is all you wanted to say..."

Marie kept her expression neutral but her eyes flickered with worry- Jack seemed angrier than normal. She hurried on before Jack's patience could run out. "No, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I understand trying to get her-" (Marie spat the word out like it was something foul) "-to help in rescuing Tenebaum. It's been almost a decade since any of us have been to Rapture- our information is mostly like terribly outdated.

"What I don't understand is why we don't go to Rapture _now_, and help her _after_. If we need information, we should have just strapped that monster up and shocked it out of her. The longer we wait, the worst off Tenebaum will be!"

Jack shook his head, deciding to ignore Marie's comments about torture: he would be a hyprocite to reprimand her. "And if we die in Rapture before we even find Tenebaum, no one will be saved. No Marie, you underestimate how dangerous Rapture is. You were the one of the youngest girls to be made into a Little Sister, only 6 years old. You remember the least of Rapture- out of everyone, you had the fewest nightmares- and I'm not saying that's a bad thing," Jack quickly interjected before Marie could protest. "Just that out of all of us here, you are the least prepared to enter Rapture."

Jack turned his head to look down the hall he had just came from. "And you saw how powerful that girl was. Even as crazy as she was, she nearly managed to beat both of us at once. She would be a valuable ally in our return."

Marie didn't look so convinced. She knew Jack wasn't so objective-minded- if he was, he wouldn't have saved them all. Dad's heart was simply too kind- if someone needed a hand, father _had_ to help them. It was part of the reason why he was such a good man, why Marie was proud to call him her father. But monsters like this Eleanor would exploit his kindness and use Jack for their purposes and discard him like a piece of trash without a second thought.

Still, Marie knew she was pushing the limits of her father's patience so she merely nodded and walked away in a sign of acceptance. As she walked away, her expression turned from submission to determination. Father may have been blinded by his own kind heart, but she would not be fooled. She would keep an eye on the monster and make sure she never hurt her family again.

Believe it.

* * *

The next day was seemingly no different than any other day. As usual, Eleanor was receiving her regular checkups from Jocelyn.

As Jocelyn went about her normal routine, however, she did not fail to notice something had changed with Eleanor. She gave no indication that anything was different though, as she continued performing her regular procedures.

It wasn't until the end, though that Jocelyn deviated from the norm. Instead of giving Eleanor another dose of new medicine, Jocelyn took off her gloves and began putting away her equipment.

Eleanor raised her eyebrows in surprise. "No new injections?" She asked the doctor.

"Not today," Replied Jocelyn. "My father wants to try something new."

Eleanor sighed- not again! She didn't understand why Jack kept wanting to speak to her. He never tried helping her condition- he just talked about foolish things like "precious people" and other thing she didn't understand. Hopefully, the Alpha wasn't about to spiel such nonsense again- if she wasn't at the mercy of the devil, she would have shut him up long ago.

Delta shifted in the back of her head. **Do not fear. You are no longer defenseless.**

Father was right of course- Jack was no longer the Alpha. Yes, she had her ace up her sleeve now- she wasn't as defenseless as the Ryans no doubt thought she was. She had nothing to fear of Jack.

_Nothing at all, _Eleanor repeated as her fingers trembled in nervousness. _Nothing at all._

* * *

Jack was in the living room this time. Piles of wires, scrap metal, empty cans, and what appeared to be some kind of fertilizer lay in a circle around him as he diligently worked on what appeared to be a makeshift grenade. Eleanor could see from her wheelchair about a dozen completed home-made grenades behind Jack.

Minutes ticked by as Eleanor and Jocelyn stood there in silence while Jack continued to work. Jack seemed content to ignore them while Jocelyn appeared to have no problem waiting at all. After all a few more minutes, Eleanor broke the silence. "You wanted to see me?"

Jack did not respond. Instead, he used his telekinesis to hover an incomplete grenade above his hand, rotating it for all to see.

Then he fired it at Eleanor.

The violet-haired girl reacted on instinct. Without thinking, she rose her head and slapped the unfinished explosive away from her.

She froze- damn! The game was up now. Reaching within herself, she pulled at her ADAM- if Jack was going to kill her, she would be damned if she didn't go down fighting...

Only to stop as Jack let out a booming laugh. "Oh Eleanor," He said, in between his chuckles. "You didn't _really_ think you could fix your limbs without us noticing, did you? We have a certified doctor giving you checkups everyday!"

Jocelyn was less jovial. "You foolish girl," She snapped, as she grabbed Eleanor's hand. Eleanor instantly hissed in pain as the action sent shockwaves of agony down her arm. "You set your limbs all wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if you were in constant pain right now."

Eleanor _was_ in constant pain, but that was the least of her concerns. "You're not angry?" She asked, her voice full of disbelief. She immediately winced at how foolish she sounded, like a young child afraid that their parent was angry. Her limbs were fixed now! She had nothing to fear from Jack! He was _not _her superior!

Jack shook his head. "No, not really. I just wished you had asked Jocelyn to set your arms correctly. I'm guessing you used your telekinesis to continually break your arms and legs until you could move them?"

Eleanor nodded her head dumbly, a bit out of it- none of this was making any sense at all! "Why don't you care? Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Oh, don't think we're not keeping an eye on you," Said Jack in a serious tone. "But remember what I said last time, that you have nothing to fear from us?" At Eleanor's acknowledgment, he continued. "Consider this another act of trust. Perhaps, after this, you'll be more willing to trust in us as well. We need to work together after all."

Eleanor had no idea what to say to this profound statement- in fact, she felt rather uncomfortable. None of this was making any sense! Jack was suppose to be the devil! The evil puppet of Fontaine! Why would he be so...so...

Kind?

Eleanor decided to change the subject. "You said you had another method you wanted to try?"

In response Jack merely leaned forward and cupped Eleanor's cheek in his hand. To her surprise, Eleanor felt herself immediately relaxing- Jack's hand felt so warm...

"Now," Command Jack. "I want you to hold still."

His right hand began to glow and Eleanor felt a curious sensation. It was like she was back in the Appleton home and Mrs. Appleton was giving her a nice warm soap bath and a massage. Eleanor felt her eyes slowly close as all the voices in her head seemed to die away and everything became quieter and quieter until...

Peace.

Then Jack pulled his hand away and Eleanor's eyes snapped open. Instantly she could tell the difference. The loud murmurs and whispers that had plagued her had been reduced to a dull roar. She could now actually hear herself think! "What did you do?" She asked Jack.

"I used the same plasmid Tenebaum gave me to take the ADAM slugs out of the Little Sisters without killing them," Replied Jack, flexing his right hand. "Although you don't have an ADAM slug, your ADAM still reacts to its pull. I don't think it'll last forever, but for a short time, your ADAM should think that it's been extracted."

"I...Thank you." Said Eleanor softly, missing Jack's incorrect comments about her ADAM slug. She felt a bit surreal...she didn't realize how much her mind was clouded until after the volume had been turned down.

"How do you feel?" Asked Jocelyn, who was still standing behind her.

"Better than I've felt in...a long time," Responded Eleanor breathlessly. She did not take her eyes off Jack.

Jack smiled. It was a beautiful smile, realized Eleanor, one full of kindness, tempered with the power to protect his loved ones. In fact, his voice was just like Fathers'- strong and in control, making all those around him feel protected. "I'm glad to hear that Eleanor. Now if you would wait here, I need to speak with Jocelyn in the other room. Afterwards, she'll be able to check if there were any negative effects from the plasmid and reset your bones correctly."

Jocelyn leaned in and poked Eleanor in the chest, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't move anywhere," Jocelyn ordered, her voice cold. "Your bones are a complete mess right now. Any kind of forceful movement could further fracture your bones. Now, this shouldn't take long. If I come back here and find you've broken another bone, so help me God I will make sure you regret it!"

Eleanor nodded mutely- suddenly, Jack didn't seem so scary compared to his daughter. Satisfied, Jack and Jocelyn left the room to continue preparations for Rapture, leaving Eleanor alone standing agape. Once again, Jack had taken her by surprise. The more she spoke with him, the more Eleanor came to realize just how great Jack was. Many in Rapture had often held up Andrew Ryan and Atlas as examples of what great men were. It was only now that Eleanor realized how drastically wrong they all were.

Eleanor felt herself blush as she remembered the feeling of Jack's hand. She touched her own hand at the spot where Jack had removed the noise. It was so warm...

"I'm on to you monster."

Eleanor jumped at the voice- she had been so engrossed in her thoughts, she hadn't heard anyone coming in. She turned to see Jack's youngest daughter standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a large revolver hanging visbly at her waist. Her face was filled with loathing- as if merely looking at Eleanor was disgusting.

"I'm sorry?" Said Eleanor, remembering her manners.

Marie ignored her as she continued, "Don't think I don't know what you're doing you _whore_. I don't like the way you're looking at my Dad. You stay the hell away from him... or else!"

With those words, Marie spun around and stomped off, leaving a very confused Eleanor. _What was that all about?_

Delta was silent for a moment. **Get some rest Eleanor. I have a feeling its going to be a long day.**

**(Thanks to The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Big Sister K, blue rumbler, shinigamichild, L1Ghtk1ll3r, Rickmer, Bydo, Zero3921, Shadow700, sleepgamer, crazymike 98 for your reviews! You guys are my incentives for writing =D !)**


	22. Chapter 22

"How do you feel?"

Eleanor flexed her hands, marveling at mobility of her fixed limbs. She didn't realize how empowering it felt to be able to move without problem until now. The procedure had taken over five hours, as each bone had to be broken and placed in correct position. Luckily, Jack and Jocelyn had sedated her- in Eleanor's perspective, the procedure was completely painless and had been over in less than a minute.

And it had been completely worth it- Eleanor gave a huge smile as she exclaimed, "I feel great! I can't believe how I got by before! I feel so...so strong! Thank you so much Jocelyn!"

She turned to Jack. "And thank you for trusting me!" She said. On impulse she leaned forward and gave a surprised Jack a large hug. For a few seconds, Jocelyn sat stock still with his mouth wide open in shock as Eleanor continued to glomped the man, oblivious to Jack's increasingly-uncomfortable expression.

Then Eleanor came to her sense and immediately detached herself from Jack. Her face turned beet red as she stuttered. "I...I..Sorry!"

"You...YOU BITCH!"

All eyes turned at the sound of the voice to see Marie standing in the doorway with a rolled-up newspaper in her hand, looking outrage. "Stay away from my Dad you damn monster!"

"Marie!" Jack exclaimed. "Watch your language!"

Marie ignored Jack as she stormed into the clinic. "I have proof now Dad! Look at this!"

She threw the newspaper in front of Eleanor. In large, bold letters, the headlines read: Family Killed By Freak Tornado!

As they sat in shocked silence, Marie continued speaking. "After that agent came by and mentioned the Appletons I decided to go and find out what he was talking about. The Appletons were a loved family of four that decided to take in a lonely, abandoned girl. Next thing the townspeople knew, the whole house was in ruins and the Appletons were dead. And guess who they described?"

Marie threw an accusing finger at Eleanor. "You! That family showed you mercy and you killed them! Are we next huh?"

Jack quickly intervened before things could get ugly. "Hold on Marie. Keep calm. Eleanor, could you please explain this? Did you kill that family?"

Eleanor stared at the newspaper. "No..."

"No?" Pressed Jack. "You didn't do this?"

She fixed Jack with a piercing stare. "They're not dead."

"Eleanor..." Jack started.

"No! They're not dead!" She shouted, before disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Eleanor!" Jack shouted, lunging forward in a futile attempt to start her from teleporting. "Damn it! It's board daylight! She's suppose to be a crippled patient right now!"

Jocelyn had a worried look on her face. "If anyone sees her..."

"...then we're screwed- that damn idiot!" Finished Marie, with an incest look across her face. The look disappeared as Jack glared at her.

"You and I will be having a talk later young lady," He said in a stern voice. "For now, we better find Eleanor before someone sees her."

* * *

**Eleanor! What are you doing?**

They were in a graveyard, just outside of the Appleton's town. Eleanor had seen it on her way to the town when she had first reached the surface. Mr. Appleton, in one of the rare moments where Eleanor had been paying attention to what he was saying, had told her that five generations of Appletons laid in that graveyard.

_I'm going to prove that Marie is lying. _She said to Delta. _If the Appletons really died, they would be buried in this graveyard._

**Be careful Eleanor. You may not like what you find.**

_Why should I be worried? They're not dead._ Eleanor challenged, as she continued walking, searching through the tombstones. _It's just that damn Marie- she just really...hates... me..._

And there it was. Right in front her, in large letters across the top of the tombstone, the words 'PETER APPLETON' stared accusingly at her face.

Eleanor looked to the left of the tombstone- the names of all the members of the Appleton family could be seen, even Valentines.

Eleanor didn't know how long she stood there, just staring at those names. It must have been quite some time for the sun was setting when Delta spoke, shaking Eleanor out of her stupor.

**Eleanor...are you alright?**

_Alright? Of course I'm alright! _Eleanor's voice was filled with forced cheer. _I didn't care about the Appletons at all, remember? We found out it was Valentines memory splicing into my own, affecting my emotions and making me think of them as my family._

**Eleanor...do you really believe that?**

_I..._

Eleanor was cut off as a strong gust of wind blew across the graveyard, sending leaves spiraling into the air. A worned newspaper flew across Eleanor's face and her hand instinctively snatched it out of the air. It was the same edition as the one that Marie had thrown in front of her face, the one reporting the Appletons death. Without knowing why, Eleanor opened the paper and began to read.

**_An accomplished football player and beloved son, Peter Appleton was only 16 when he and his family was tragically killed by a freak tornado. Although only in his second year, he was already the starting quarterback of his high school team, the Blade Runners. He led them to victory in two regional tournaments and the finals of the national league. His friends have said-_**

Eleanor's first, intial reaction was, _Hm. I never knew Peter was younger than me._

And then it hit her- despite spending more than two weeks the family, she didn't know _anything _about the Appletons. She didn't know that Peter was a huge football fan and the quarterback of the local high school team. She didn't know that Andrew was considered a bit of a scientifc genius, having won the regoinal science fair and nearly winning the state fair, or that his dream was to write a book. She didn't know that Mr. Appleton was not only a fisherman but was a amateur standup comedian at the local bar who performed once a week. She didn't even know Mrs. Appleton's favorite hobbies were pottery, cooking, and gardening, despite having followed the women everywhere during her stay with the Appletons.

It was just like Jack said. Eleanor didn't care about anyone. All she had to do was take one minute and ask, "What do you like to do?" and she would have known so much more about the Appletons. Just one minute!

And now it was impossible.

Eleanor felt a ball of shame rise up into her throat. She wished...she wished she had known. The Appletons...they had been so kind to her and she didn't bother to take just a second to find out more about them. Then she had gone off and killed them...

She truly was a monster.

Delta's voice interrupted her musings. **Eleanor...we should head back to Jocelyn's home soon. The Ryan family will want to know where you are.**

Eleanor nodded mutely before teleporting away, leaving her sorrow behind.

* * *

It was past midnight when Eleanor teleported into Jocelyn's home. She clutched a familiar small black suitcase in her right hand. Dirt stains could be seen on it even in the darkness- as if it had just been dug out from the ground.

"Where have you been?"

Eleanor jumped at the voice. She turned around to see Jack sitting in a chair behind her she didn't hear Jack couldn't up behind her. His arms were crossed and he had an annoyed expression on his face- the Alpha face.

Eleanor winced- she felt like a little girl being scolded by her father. "I was retriving equipment for our trip to Rapture." She gestured to the suitcase.

Jack waved his hand in a come hither motion. "Show me."

After brief moment of hesitation, Eleanor opened the suitcase and showed Jack her Big Sister armor that lay inside. To Jack's credit, the only sign of his shock was the slight rise of his eyebrows. He sighed and leaned back into his chair, cupping his hands behind his head.

"Damn," He said, shaking his head. "I should have known that would be the next step for the Big Daddies. So that's what they were turning the Little Sisters into when they grew up?"

Eleanor nodded solemnly. There wasn't anything else to be said.

"Well, a bulletproof armor should help us when we get back to Rapture," Replied Jack. "Did anyone see you?"

Eleanor shook her head. "I'm good at remaining unseen when I want to. Nobody saw me, especially where I was at."

Jack sighed and decided not to press her for details- for now, he was just glad she had returned and no one had seen. He glanced at a clock and gave a start. "Jeebus, it's one in the morning! You better go get some rest Eleanor." With those words, Jack got up and began to leave.

"Wait."

Jack halted and turned around. "Yes Eleanor?"

The nights events and revelations flashed in Eleanor's mind. In the back of her mind, she could hear Jack's voice challenging her, asking, _"Do you know the names of my other four daughters? Do you know how old Jocelyn and Marie are? Do you know why Jocelyn is a doctor? Do you even know why Marie hates you so much?_

And then she knew what she had to do. "Jack...could you tell me about your family?"

At Jack's smile, Eleanor knew she had asked the right question. "Of course Eleanor," He said, returning to his seat. "Pull up a chair and let me tell you about the Ryan family..."

**ooo**

**ooo**

**(A/N: WHOA, OMEGA LATE. My only excuse is that I recently bought Grand Theft Auto 4 for the PC to see what the big deal was. I'm thought it would be fun for a couple of hours. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm currently helplessly addicted to that game. It's not healthy =_=')**

**Thanks to shinigamichild, blue rumbler, Big Sister K, Rickmer, Shadow700, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Bio team2, Anon42, Bydo, Anon42, Akane Nagamiya, L.D, crazymike 98 for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!  
**


	23. Chapter 23

Marie rubbed her eyes wearily as she walked downstairs to the kitchen. Her normally straight black hair was frizzled and bent out of shaped- evidence of a bad nights sleep. It wasn't much of a surprise- she had been up late last night looking for Eleanor. Apparently, Dad thought it was her fault that the damn splicer had run off like a headless chicken and so she was expected to find her.

Eleanor. Just the mention of that _whore'_s name sent waves of anger down her spine. The young Hispanic girl grinded her teeth and clenched her fist- who did that monster think she was? First she tried to kill Dad and herself- now she was trying to be all buddy buddy with them? Marie didn't believe it, not one bit. If Jack didn't have such a kind and merciful soul, Marie was sure he would see Eleanor for what she truly was- a demon! A poisonous snake wrapping its body around their family, a deadly parasite leeching their strength away as it poised itself to strike.

It would be best for all of them if that damn splicer never came back.

Marie's angry thoughts were driven out of her head at the sound of loud laughter. As she rounded around the stairway and into the kitchen, Marie was horrified to see the monster in question sitting at the table, laughing her ugly face off. Across the table sat her father with...with the biggest smile Marie had ever seen across his face.

Marie froze, her jaw dropping at the odd sight- Jack almost _never_ smiled liked that. That wasn't to say he never smiled- in fact, one of Jack smiled all the time. But his smiles were always smile, kind smiles, ones that made you feel you were loved. This smile, on the other hand, was an expression of sheer joy, one Marie had only seen when one of his daughters had achieved something great. It the smile of a proud parent, one that almost threatened to split his face in half. Marie couldn't believe it- there was no way that splicer bitch could bring out such joy in father!

But apparently it was true as Jack let out a loud, rumbling chuckle before speaking.

"And then..." Jack's voice was breathless as he spoke in-between his chuckles. "And then, as I'm sitting in the principal's office assuring him that my daughters would never cause any commotion, Eliza runs into the room with naked with her underwear on her head shouting, 'Daddy! Daddy! I'm invisible, look!'."

Eleanor gave a girlishly giggle that, in Marie's opinion, was complete at odds with the murderous splicer she really was. Jack kept speaking even as he wiped tears out of his eyes. "Oh yes, that was my little trouble maker, Eliza. And here's the best part- would you believe that little scoundrel would grow up to be a school teacher?"

"A school teacher?" Eleanor cried in surprise.

"Yup! Little miss rule breaker became one of the strictest rule keepers in the world. Oh the irony!"

Eleanor's interest was peaked. It sounded like Jack's former Little Sisters had all grown up and completely immersed themselves with the surfacers. "Do you mind if a see a picture?"

"Sure," Jack took a framed photo off the wall. "Here's one we took for Marie's 7th birthday."

Eleanor took the photo, no longer smiling. A wave of dread swept through her body as a sense of deja-vu gripped her body- she felt as if she had gone through these exact same motions before...

Eleanor quickly shook the feelings off as she stared at the photo- she was just being paranoid. The picture showed six smiling girls on sitting on a sofa. Jack was nowhere to be seen- he was probably the one taking the photograph.

Jack leaned in and began to identify each of the girls. His voice had a proud tone to it, one reserved for parents speaking about their children's achievements. "You know about Jocelyn of course. She's my eldest daughter- only 23 and already a certified doctor! Genius, that's what that girl is.

"This here is Eliza Henridge, the former-trouble maker I was just talking about just now," Jack pointed to a black girl with curly hair and the biggest pair of glasses Eleanor had ever seen on a child. "She's my second eldest, but only about a month. She's married now- an odd guy who's also a teacher. He's a bit too strict for my taste but she seems happy with him."

He pointed to a olive-skinned girl (she looked Greek) sitting in the front. To Eleanor's amusement, she could clearly see dirt stains on the girl's knees, contrasting the cleanliness of everyone around her. "This here is Nicole. I guess you could say she's an explorer or sorts- she rather be outside looking for treasure than inside studying for her test. She's in Africa right now, probably hunting for some kind of rare artifact."

Jack's finger turned to an Asian girl with a long pony tail. She looked absolutely bored in the photo. "This here is Phoebe Chang- she's my only other daughter who's married. I think she rushed it, since she's only 19, but her husband's a good man- I like him. She is, in my humble opinion, a virtuoso on the violin! Other people obviously think she's good too- she was invited to China to play with a world class orchestral. Her future is looking great!

Jack pointed at the last girl, an all too familiar Hispanic face that Eleanor wished she had the mercy of never meeting. "And of course, you know my youngest daughter, Marie. I guess you could say she's the apple of my eye- my little baby girl!"

Marie couldn't help it- she made a loud gagging noise. 'Little baby girl?' That's what Dad thought of her? Jack and Eleanor's eyes snapped up to the unexpected sound.

"Marie?" Said Jack in a confused tone. "What are you doing up so early?"

He looked over to the clock and jumped up as if jolted by electricity. "Holy crap! It's 8 o'clock already! Where did the time go?"

Marie glared at Eleanor, as if it was her fault that Jack had forgotten the time...which it is kind of was. "So our little nutjob finally decided to return?" Eleanor frowned back- what the hell was that girl's problem with her?

Jack didn't seem to hear Marie- a testament to how tired he was. "Damn, I'm sorry Marie. I better go make breakfast now."

Marie squirmed uncomfortably. Dad was obviously tired and she really wasn't that hungry. She opened her mouth to tell Jack not to worry about-

Before Marie could say anything, Eleanor jumped to her feet and interrupted. "Please Jack, allow me to cook breakfast for you!"

Jack blinked in surprise. "You can cook?" He said rather stupidly, before giving himself a shake. "I mean, you're willing to do that for us?"

Eleanor gave a wide smile that seemed to light up the room. To Marie, it looked like the face of the an evil seductress. "Of course Jack. It is my fault that you were up so late. Please allow me to repay you for your kindness."

Marie opened her mouth to veto this demon when she was once again interrupted, this time by a loud yawn from Jack. In his tired mind, Jack felt only surprise- wasn't Eleanor born and raised Rapture? If his memories were correct, no one in Rapture would demean themselves with menial task such as cooking...unless...

Fatigue had a way of making dumb things make sense. To Jack, Eleanor's offer was proof that she was letting go of the Rapture way, that she was letting go of that "holier-than-thou" attitude that Rapture seemed to breed in its inhabitants. After all, no one in Rapture would demean themselves with...wait a minute. Didn't he just think that?

Jack shook his head of those thoughts. "If you want to Eleanor...I would appreciate it."

Eleanor beamed while Marie grounded her teeth. She followed the monster into the kitchen- someone had to make sure the demon didn't poison them all.

* * *

In a short time, everyone was sitting around the breakfast table as Eleanor began to lay out huge trays of delicious food. Jocelyn had woken up shortly before, having been attracted by the aroma drifting from the kitchen. Jack had become quite adept at cooking, as the single father of a family of but he lacked the natural talent needed to make a true feast.

And a feast it was. Although the Ryan family didn't know it, Mrs. Appleton had taught Eleanor well. Massive stacks of fluffy pancakes dipped in syrup, piles of juicy stripes of bacon coupled with fat sausages and steaming fried eggs were laid out across the table, in a traditional American breakfast. There was even...

"Fish?" Asked Jack confused.

Eleanor wrung her hands nervousness. Had she done something wrong? She thought fish was a normal dish for breakfast- Rapturians ate fish all the time and when she had seen the Appleton's eat fish for breakfast, she had assumed it was a surfacer delicacy as well. "I'm sorry...was I not suppose to cook fish?"

"Oh no!" Jack hurriedly said, as he tiredly struggled to find the proper words. "It's just...um..."

"Not something you normally eat for breakfast unless you're part of a fishing family," Marie's voice was frosty as she glared at Eleanor- she had already figured out the reason for Eleanor's confusion, having remembered the article about the Appletons...

"Who cares, it taste delicious!" Jocelyn cried as she dug in. She was quite hungry- she had spent all last night driving around trying to find Eleanor. A little food never hurt anybody.

With those words everyone settled in and began to eat. Eleanor, however, ate slowly as she observed the only man in the room. Jack Ryan was clearly tired- every breath he took came in slow and steady, as if he was already in a state of half sleep. Despite this, his grip was strong around his fork as he calmly ate his breakfast, his fatigue doing little to interfere with his daily routine. His shirt was taut as his large muscles seem to flex in a natural manner that no gene tonic seemed to be able to replicate- Jack clearly had not been neglecting his body. Eleanor wondered what it would like to run her hand along that well-toned chest and-

Delta's voice rang out, shattering her thoughts. **Eleanor, what exactly are you doing?**

Eleanor shook her head. _Nothing Father. Just observing._

Delta let out an uneasy grunt. **Others seem to be observing you as well**.

Eleanor tore her eyes from Jack to see both Marie and Jocelyn staring at her. With Jocelyn, it wasn't as blatant- the blond hair doctor simply threw short glances at Eleanor while she continued eating, as if wondering why the violet haired girl was staring at Jack.

Marie, on the other hand, had abandoned all pretense subtly and had settled for an icey glare. In one hand she held a glass cup of milk that she brought slowly to her mouth to drink, while continuing to glare at Eleanor. In her other hand, she gripped a kitchen knife so tightly that her knuckles were white- the black haired girl look like she wished nothing more than to plunge the utensil into Eleanor's face.

Luckily, before any violent action could break out, Jack spoke, grabbing the attention of those in the room.

"Wow Eleanor, this is amazing!" He said as he continued to gobble down the pancakes. "You must teach me your recipe!"

Eleanor was extremely pleased- far more pleased than she needed to be in Delta's opinion. "Of course, Jack," Her voice was soft and she slowly pushed back a hair that had fallen in front of her face. "_Anything_ for you."

_Crack!_

Marie's glass cup cracked from the pressure of her iron grip as she glared at Eleanor- if Marie didn't trust Eleanor before, her voice and emphasis definitely was setting her over the edge now. Even Jocelyn had stopped eating, her fork hovering in mid air as she stared at the violet-haired girl, as if unsure whether she heard Eleanor correctly or not. In his tired state, Jack noticed none of this as he nodded his thanks. "If you could write it down after breakfast that would be great."

Then Jack suddenly seemed to realize Marie had broken her cup. "What happened?" He blinked rapidly, trying to clear out the fog that seemed to have descended over him- damn, he was tired. "Are you alright Marie?"

Marie plastered a fake smile on her face, one full of teeth. "Oh, I'm doing great Dad! Here, let me throw this glass cup away and get another one!" She turned to Eleanor. "How about you come help me get another cup Eleanor?"

Eleanor frowned. "Why would you need my help to get a new-"

Eleanor was cut off as Marie "accidentally" slapped Eleanor's own cup off the table where it smashed into pieces against the wall. "Oh no! Looks like we need a new cup for you too!" Marie said, ignoring the shock looks all around her. With those words, she stood up and grabbed Eleanor by the cuff of her shirt. Before Eleanor could protest Marie had dragged her off into the kitchen.

Jack watched the two teenager girls head into his kitchen, his eyes narrowing in concern. Even in his fatigue, Jack knew putting those two in a room alone was just asking for trouble...

ooo

ooo

ooo

**(Thanks to Subject153, Shadow700, L1Ghtk1ll3r, jschneids, Big Sister K, Zero3921, shinigamichild, blue rumbler, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, biohazard436, Forgotten Honor, crazymike 98, DeadGivaway, Zombie Drizzle, Rickmer for your reviews! Your critiques and compliments motivate me to improve my writing- thanks! :D )  
**


	24. Chapter 24

**(A/N: My longest chapter yet ;) )**

As the two girls entered the kitchen, Eleanor shook Marie's arm off her shoulder. "Right. I don't know why I'm here so I'm going back to eat breakfast."

But as Eleanor turned to leave, Marie grabbed her hand, and pulled her away from the door. "Oh no you don't," She hissed. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Eleanor decided to play the naive girl. "What do you mean?" She said, batting her eyelashes innocently.

Marie wasn't fooled, as her face grew red in anger. "You know what I mean! Keep your slutty eyes off my Dad!"

Eleanor gave one of her patented smiles. It was lighting a candle in a dark room, a brilliant flame that seemed to chase away the dark and cold. It did little to thaw Marie's expression. "My eyes? What ever do you mean?" She said in an amused voice.

"You're trying to get in with my Dad you whore!"

Eleanor was starting to get annoyed, but she managed to keep her cool. "What makes you think that?"

_"_'I'll do a_nything_ for you'_"_ Marie mocked in a cruel and exaggerated, but fair imitation of Eleanor's voice. "What? Tired of killing little girls? Looking for some action with older men?"

Eleanor dropped the act. "I didn't want to harvest those Little Sisters. It was the only way to escape! They would have lived a life of misery, twisted into souless metal beings if I had left them there! They would have been forever exploited! "

"Oh you're a regular saint aren't you?" Marie's voice was dripping in sarcasm. "Saving little girls by ripping them open and taking their life- all to save them of course!"

Eleanor growled in frustration- Marie's cutting words were hitting far closer to home than Eleanor liked. "Don't judge me! You don't know the situation!"

"Oh really?" Marie was literally spitting in rage. " Tell me bitch, what was the situation? Were you angy that your Daddy not love you enough? Was you sad that your monster father and create a little monster family?"

**Eleanor! **Delta's voice rang throughout the violet-hair's head. **She is trying to get you angry! Stay calm!**

But Eleanor couldn't stay calm- not with Father's honor on the line. "Don't your dare about my Father! You don't know anything!"

"Oooooh, is the little splicer angry? Let me guess- your sad that Delta died despite alllllllllll your best efforts so now you're trying to replace him with my Dad?"

**ELEANOR! This is pointless! Just walk away!**

"I'm not replacing Father with anyone! I love my Father more than anything in the world!" Eleanor screamed. All traces of innocence were gone as she flexed her fingers, as if she wanted nothing more than to wrap them around Marie's neck and squeeze.

Marie wasn't finish. "You mean **loved** don't you? Past-tense bitch- cause he's dead! And good riddance too- he was probably a souless sack of shit just like you are you damn-"

That was it.

Eleanor didn't even think. One second she was slightly annoyed at this stupid girl and the next her fist was flying into Marie's face. With her enhanced strength, it would have turned Marie's face into a puddle of flesh...

...If Marie hadn't managed to throw herself out of the way. Eleanor's fist slammed through the wall behind her with a loud _smash!_ Relying on instinct, Marie pulled her pistol from her back jean pocket and leveled at Eleanor's face. Eleanor was already twisting her body away, presenting a smaller profile even as a fireball formed in the palm of her right hand...

Instantly, Jack was between them. With his left hand he extinguished Eleanor's fireball with a blast of fice. With his right hand, he wrapped around Marie's hands with his enhanced strength, pulling the pistol from her grip with ease.

Eleanor eyes went wide in surprise- she hadn't heard any footsteps. She was completely caught off guard.

**Wrench Lurker**, muttered Delta in the back of her mind.** A deadly gene tonic for those caught unaware...**

Jack's face was livid. All traces of sleep had left his face to be replaced by cold hard rage. The Alpha had arrived. "What the hell do you two think you're doing! We don't know if their are any government agents watching this house. What do you think they would do if they heard a gun shot?"

Marie shrank in fear at Jack anger. "Dad, I-"

Jack cut her off. "I'll speak with you later! Go to your room!"

Marie didn't need to be told twice as she turned tail and left the kitchen in a flash.

Jack turned to Eleanor, his glare as sharp as daggers. "And you! You said you want our help and now you're trying to burn our house down and kill my daughter! Just who do you think you are?"

Eleanor felt fear- but not for her life. Instead, at that moment, Eleanor was absolutely terrified that Jack hated her. And all of her instincts were screaming at her to run, to flee. It was so easy to just teleport away and leave all her problems behind.

Just so easy...

She always took the easy way out didn't she? Instead of trying to escape her mother's clutches, she left it all up to Father to save her- a task that cost his body and nearly got him killed. Instead of staying in Rapture, she fled to the surface with wild fantasies of utopia and peace- which she was quickly relieved of. Instead of admitting that she had killed the Appletons, she had turn tail and hide in a graveyard. And instead of finding another solution, she had harvested-no, _murdered_ the Little Sisters to escape.

Jack Ryan, on the other hand, never took the easy way out. He did not leave Rapture until he had killed Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine, freeing Rapture of its tyrants. He could have run instead of fighting her, Eleanor, the closest human being to a utopian. He could have have killed her instead of trying to help her. And, most importantly, he could have harvested the Little Sisters instead of rescuing all of them.

And they had fought...and who had won? The great man Jack, who never gave up...or herself, the coward who always ran and took the easy way out?

No, it was time to change. Eleanor did not run. She stood her ground, mustered up her courage and looked Jack Ryan straight in the eye. "Jack...I'm sorry. That was my fault. I should have kept a leash on my temper. I swear it won't happen again."

Jack grunted, obviously surprised at the apology. He activated his ignite and thawed the ice off Eleanor's hand before speaking in a slightly awkward voice. "Go speak with Jocelyn. She probably wants to give you another checkup anyway."

And as Eleanor turned to leave, Delta's voice rang out, filled with pride. **I'm proud of you Eleanor.**

Eleanor left the room with a smile on her lips.

* * *

The smile quickly faded from Eleanor lips as Jocelyn shined a bright light in straight in her eye. Eleanor hissed and began rapidly blinking, trying to get rid of spots. Although she had been on the surface for almost a month, her eyes were still suspectible to bright lights.

"Ugh!" She cried, rubbing her right eye fiercely. "What possible purpose could shining a flashlight directly into my eye serve?"

"To evaluate your reaction of course," Jocelyn turned off the flashlight and placed it in her pocket. "So are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Eleanor stopped rubbing her eye and looked up with a confused expression on her face. "That I hate having bright lights blasted into my eyes?"

Jocelyn was not amused. "No, I mean what happened during breakfast? What was with you and my Dad?"

Eleanor's face quickly grew stoney- not another one! She already had enough dealing with Marie's little protective issues. As if reading her thoughts, Jocelyn quickly interjected, "Relax Eleanor. I'm not like Marie- I'm not going to bite your head off. I just want to know what you're thinking."

**As would I.** Said Delta, his voice emotionless.

Eleanor ignored both of them- just the mention of Jack reminded her of their conversation. Jack's voice drifted to the back of her head: _"Do you even know why Marie hates you so much?"_

"What exactly is Marie's problem with me?" Asked Eleanor.

Jocelyn pursed her lips at the obvious subject change but she decided to ignore it- Eleanor obviously didn't want to talk about it and to be honest, Jocelyn really didn't want to know. Just thinking about the potential ramifications of Eleanor's actions made Jocelyn feel sick in the stomach. "Well, that's a bit challenging to answer, considering I don't know myself- and I doubt Marie understands either. Dad is probably the only one who knows since he seems to know us better than we know ourselves- but I doubt he would be willing to answer.

"Still, I can tell you my thoughts about the situation."

Jocelyn sat down and made herself comfortable. "First off, let me give you some background, so you know where I'm coming from. Of the six Little Sisters that Jack took with him, Marie is the youngest. In fact, she was one of the youngest girls to be turned into a Little Sister, evidence of Rapture's increasing demand for ADAM. Luckily for her, she also spent the least amount of time as a Little Sister before Jack managed to save her. So out of all of us, she remembers the least about Rapture and had the fewest nightmares. I would say that's a good thing, but I guess it has always made her feel guilty or maybe even inadequate compared to us since she thinks she just lucked out.

"Inadequacy. Heh. I think self-confidence has always been a big problem for Marie. It may not seem like it, but Marie has some serious confidence issues. It makes perfect sense though- not only does she feel that she lucked out in Rapture, but all of her older sisters smart or successful or have some kind of special talent. Just look at me- I'm a doctor at age 23 and doing quite well. All of us are living on our own while Marie is still stuck at home. I imagine she must feel pressured to measure up to the rest of the family."

A memory floated into Eleanor's mind's eye. In her ear she could hear Peter's voice, whispering, _"As his twin brother, everyone expects me to be as good as him and when they find out I'm not...they just don't understand how come I can't be some perfect being."_

Eleanor gave herself a mental shake- she just wanted to find out why Marie hated her, not sympathize with that damn little pixey!

Still, even Eleanor had to acknowledge skill. "But Marie does have some talent," Eleanor said, absentmindely rubbing her throat. "She has some pretty good aim."

Jocelyn gave her a crooked grin. "Never said she didn't. Dad says he doesn't play favorites but we all know Marie is his little girl- she's the one that he taught how to fight. I mean, he taught all of us how to shoot a gun and a little bit of hand-to-hand combat for self defense purposes. But with Marie, Dad went all out. He instructed her in over four different forms of martial arts and spars with her almost everyday. He taught her how to hack most machinery in under 30 seconds flat. He taught her how to build weapons and ammo from random things like rubber tubes and brass cylinders. Heck, I think he would even give her a plasmid if he could, something he told us he would never do since he thought we would get addicted."

Eleanor frowned- it annoyed her to hear how much Jack loved his daughter. "That sounds like a bad idea- Marie seems like a right spoiled princess who doesn't appreciate what she has. That girl can't stand anyone being better than her. She's mentally weak and wouldn't be able to survive even a single splicing! "

Jocelyn's eye twitched in anger. "Watch your mouth- that's my sister you're talking about!" She shouted, unintentionally echoing her father. Her voice softened as she admitted, "Though I can understand why you would think that. All Marie's done since you've come is rail and attack you. But please, just look at it from her perspective: You're a sixteen-year-old girl. One day, some random attractive young seventeen-year-old stranger waltzes into your town, and your father takes her in as if she were his own daughter. How would you react?"

Eleanor shrugged, not even bothering to think about the question- she already knew she wouldn't react well if someone tried to steal Father from her. The whole thing was reminding her too much of Peter...and she really didn't want to assosiate Peter with Marie. Peter was...nice. Marie was just an idiot who couldn't appreciate what she had.

**Appreciate what she has? What is that suppose to mean? **Asked Delta. **Do I detect...jealously Eleanor? **His tone was jovial, causing Eleanor to miss the undercurrent of annoyance in his words.

Again, Eleanor ignored him- she had been doing that a lot lately. Instead, she turned to Jocelyn and asked, "So are you coming to Rapture with us? I haven't seen you preparing anything."

Jocelyn's expression froze as she struggled to keep herself composed. She remembered what Jack had told her...

* * *

"What did you want to talk to me about Dad?"

That was Jocelyn's immediately question as she and Jack entered Jocelyn's study room. They had just 'caught' Eleanor resetting her bones and had just sucessfully used the Cure-Little-Sister Plasmid on her.

Instead of answering, Jack strolled to the desk and took a seat. "Why don't you take a seat Jocelyn?" He gestured to the chair across the table.

Jocelyn sat down. "I hope you make this fast. I don't trust leaving Eleanor by herself. Who knows how many bones she'll break unsupervised-"

"I don't want you to come to Rapture with us." Interrupted Jack.

Jocelyn sat in stunned silence. "What?" She managed to say.

"Rapture's a dangerous place Jocelyn, you know that more than anyone. A young woman like you can't-"

"Oh don't give me that bull, Dad!" Jocelyn shouted. Her face was growing red in anger. "If that's true, why the hell are you taking Marie?"

Jack remained impassive- he had expected the anger. "You know you're not in the same position as Marie. She's been training with me all her life. I trust her as my student and more importantly I trust my own teaching abilities. You have recieved no such training at all."

"You didn't either!" Jocelyn was on her feet now. "You were just a genetically created child with false memories thrown into Rapture!"

"You forget I had the vita-chambers keyed into me. And that's another reason why I don't want you to go- it wasn't fun and games for me even with the chambers."

"And you think it'll be fun for Marie? She's only 16! She's just a teenager- younger than you were!"

"And she doesn't remember Rapture at all Jocelyn- she was only six. She never had any nightmares- not like the rest of you. As a result she has no deep rooted fears of the dark corners or splicers. You, on the other hand..."

Jack gave a small sigh, looking like a weary old man instead of a 30 year-old in his prime. "I just don't want to put you in that position."

Jocelyn's expression soften. "But I can help Dad! I may not be the best shot, but I'm a certified doctor! You'll need me when you're down there."

"And that's the other thing too," Interrupted Jack. "There's a good chance that when we go down there Jocelyn, we won't be coming back." He held up his hand as Jocelyn opened her mouth to interupt. "You know its a valid possibility, one that I hope won't happen but we must prepare for.

"And that is why you have to stay on the surface. You are the eldest of the Ryan family. If I don't make it back it will fall to you to take care of the rest of the family. Eliza, Phoebe, Nicole, and Angelique... everyone except Marie is living on their own and taking care of themselves. But they'll need a central figure to help them when they need it. And if I don't make it back, that role will fall to you."

Jack stared Jocelyn straight in the eye. "Do you understand?"

Jocelyn face fell- she knew there was nothing she could say that would change Jack's mind. "I understand."

* * *

"No, I'm not going."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow at the terse reply, waiting for Jocelyn to elaborate. The older girl remained resolutely silent- she didn't feel like explaining to Eleanor why she couldn't go to Rapture with them. Before Eleanor could ask anymore, a voice spoke causing both girls to jump.

"Funny that you mention Rapture," Jack was leaning in the doorway of the clinic with an impassive look on his face. "Make sure to finish your final preparations by tonight Eleanor. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

Eleanor's eyes widen in surprise. "We're leaving already? What about my condition?"

"It's improved hasn't it?" Interject Jocelyn. "You told me in our last couple of sessions that the headaches and the pain have lessened considerably."

"Well yes, the Rescue Plasmid has helped me greatly, but I'm still hearing voices!"

"Well, we've done all we can," Replied Jack. "To do anymore we're going to have to find the creator of ADAM and the Little Sisters."

Eleanor understood now. "Tenebaum."

"That's right. She's the only one who can help you now. So will you honor your deal and join us in our hunt for Bridgett Tenebaum?"

**This is your last chance to back out Eleanor, **Warned Delta. **Choose wisely.**

For Eleanor it wasn't much of a choice. "Of course Jack. Let's do this."

**ooo**

**ooo**

**ooo**

**(A/N: Thanks to CrisisX-15, jschneids, Zero3921, Shadow700, Forgotten Honor, blue rumbler, shinigamichild, Rickmer, Big Sister K, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Sj, Subject153 for your reviews! You guys motivate me to write!)**


	25. Chapter 25

_Clang!_

The boat seemed to shudder as Marie, Jocelyn, and Jack dropped the huge metal box on top of the deck of the ship. Jack gave a loud sigh of relief as he leaned back onto the box.

"Jeez Marie, did you have to bring so much clothes?" Said Jack, wiping sweat from his brow. "We're going on a short fishing trip, not moving to another country!"

"But Daddyyyyyyy," Whined Marie in typical teenage fashion. "We're going to be out at sea for soooo long! I need those clothes."

Jack took one look at Marie's doggy eyes and folded. "Alright, alright."

Jocelyn rolled her eyes. "You spoil her Dad. If it had been me, you wouldn't even have loaded the box onto the truck."

Jack frowned slightly at Jocelyn's bitter tone- they both knew she was talking about more than just a box of 'clothes'. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us Jocelyn? We can always go back to get your stuff...or you could share with Marie. Heaven knows she has enough clothes to garb a small army."

Jocelyn shook her head. "No, I still have obligations to take care of. You understand, of course."

Of course it was all wrong- the true situation was reversed. But they needed to keep up the act in case any federal agents were still watching them.

"Well, I suppose its time for me to head back. " Jocelyn said. She wrapped both Jack and Marie up in a big hug and whispered into their ears. "Promise me the two of you will come back home safe."

"We promise." Replied Jack and Marie. They both pretended not to see the tears in Jocelyn's eyes as she exited the boat.

Without another word, the two disembarked on their journey to the watery hell known as Rapture.

* * *

And from the hills overlooking the dock, Agent Sapper placed his binoculars down. He watched the now miniaturized ship speed away out to sea with an annoyed glare- if only he could hear what they were saying! Still, Burningham had given him strict orders to keep his distance from the Ryan family, to not take "unnecessary risk". While Sapper felt standing almost half a mile away from the target was playing it a bit too safe, Sapper was reluctant to be adventurous- especially after what happened to Agent Roddenberry.

Plus, Burningham was his superior. The man was a legend in the agency. Sapper wished he could be half the man Burningham was- where as he bumbled along like a "country bumpkin", Burningham was smooth, precise and well, cool.

Speaking of which, Burningham would want to be updated. With a quick flick of his wirst, Sapper pulled out a small hand-held radio. "Burningham, come in."

There was a crackle of static before Burningham replied, "Go ahead Sapper."

Sapper quickly adopted a business-like tone. "Codename O'Brien has left by boat. It appears he's taking that fishing trip he was talking about before. Do you want us to pursue?"

The reply was almost instant. "Negative Sapper. Return to base."

"Sir?" Sapper's voice was filled with confusion. "We're not following them?"

Burningham sounded amused. "Sometimes the winner of the race is not the one who starts first but the one who crosses the finishing line."

"I don't understand."

Burningham's voice was gentle, but it held a tone of finality. "Do not worry about it Sapper. It will be all taken care of."

"But...But..." Sapper couldn't let it go. "Why? Why aren't we going after them? Are we giving up on the case?"

"Sapper." This time Burningham had a definite warning edge. "I said, do NOT worry about it. Now head back to base."

"Yes sir." Sapper put the radio away, ignoring his anxiety. It sounded like Burningham had something big planned. He was his superior after all, the legendary old agent. Burningham always knew better than Sapper.

Right?

* * *

It wasn't until the surface was completely out of sight before Jack and Marie finally pulled out the massive box and opened it. Laying on top of a pile of guns, ammo, grenades and supplies laid Eleanor, with her small suitcase in her hand. The moment the top came off Eleanor immediately leapt out of the iron coffin, clutching her Big-Sister suitcase tightly to her chest.

"Had a nice nap?" Jeered Marie, laughing at Eleanor's reaction. The chuckle died as Jack glared at his youngest daughter.

"Are you alright Eleanor?" He asked.

She really wasn't. Being stuck in a small box without knowning when she was going to be released reminded Eleanor far too much of her captivity under Sophia Lamb's thumb. That's why she said, "I'm perfectly fine Jack- no problems here at all! Thank you for asking though." She flashed him a large smile that caused Marie to glare at her.

Of course Jack didn't notice anything wrong. "Good. Get ready everyone- we're almost there."

As the son of Ryan headed back to steering the ship, Delta spoke to Eleanor. **Why did you lie to him Eleanor?**

Eleanor shrugged. _It wasn't that big of a deal Father. I wasn't really that hurt anyway._

Delta said nothing and merely rumbled in uneasy acceptance. Seeing their conversation over, Eleanor immediately began to strip herself.

"AH!" Eleanor stopped removing her shirt at the cry and turned to a red-faced Marie.

"Yes?" She said frostily- she still hadn't forgiven that bitch for her insults at Father.

"What the hell are you doing?" Marie stuttered, her face growing ever more red as anger overcame embarrassment.

"Changing." Was Eleanor's terse reply.

"Out in the open? Go down to one of the rooms and change you hussy!"

Eleanor's snorted as she continued removing her clothing. "And deny you the show? No, best to show you what you've always wished for but can never have."

Marie's retort died in her throat as Eleanor opened her trunk and pulled out her Big Sister armor. Her eyes wide, Marie watched in silence as Eleanor strapped the thin diving suit onto herself. It was until Eleanor was almost finished before Marie finally spoke.

"What the...what the hell is that?"

Eleanor gave a cold stare at Marie's face. "This is what you would have turned into if Jack had never saved you."

With those words, Eleanor placed the Big Sister helmet over her head, covering her face. The red light immediately came on, casting an ominous glow over the deck. With no more words to be said, the three former-Rapturians continued their destination in silence.

* * *

It wasn't long before the Rapture escapees reached their destination. They saw the lighthouse long before they reached it. In a short amount of time, they had docked their small boat on the island and entered into the basement of the lighthouse.

It was there Marie suddenly brought up a good question. "Um, Dad? How exactly are we going to get down to Rapture? We don't have a sub or bathysphere with us."

"You forget Marie- I hold the same genes as Andrew Ryan." Jack replied. With those words, he placing his hand on the pedestal nearby. The sound of turning gears echoed across the room as the pedestal shifted and turned, scanning Jack's hand to do...

Nothing. The sound of shifting gears ceased and the pedestal stop moving. Jack looked at the pedestal in confusion. A second attempt yield the same results.

"They must have changed the genetic code..." Muttered Jack in dismay.

Marie rolled her eyes. "Seriously Dad? That was your amazing plan to go into Rapture?"

Eleanor sent Marie an angry glare, causing the Hispanic girl to flinch. Sure, it was silly of Jack to think that after ten years, the genetic code would still remain the same, but it wasn't like that fool girl had a better idea! She should respect Jack Ryan more!

Eleanor stepped forward and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "It's ok Jack, it was an honest mistake." In the back of her head, Delta scoffed but Eleanor ignored him.

Jack had the decently to look embarrassed. "I hope you have another plan to get into Rapture."

Eleanor smiled. "I do." She placed her gloved hand on the pedestal. Immediately the pedestal clicked and a bathysphere broke the surface of the water. The glass door popped with a loud hiss, awaiting its passengers.

"How did you do that?" Asked Marie, her voice filled with suspicious.

Eleanor opened her mouth to speak but the moment she put her foot into the bathysphere she was cut off by a loud scream. She flinched as she heard the sounds of small fist beating against tough metal. She couldn't see anything but she could hear a little girl screaming, crying, _"No, no, no! I wanna go home, I wanna go home!"_

"Eleanor?"

The screaming disappeared at the sound of Jack's voice. Eleanor turned to see the two Ryan's staring at her, a concern look on Jack's face and suspicion on Marie's. She gave a false smile and spoke as if nothing had happened.

"One of the task of the Big Sisters was to kidnap little girls and bring them to Rapture to turn them into Little Sisters. Although the Big Sisters could swim to Rapture with their diving suits, there was no way the girls could survive the pressure of the ocean. As such, Lamb gave the Big Sisters control of the bathysphere system. All you need is the Big Sister armor and a ADAM slug inside your body...all of which I have."

"You still have your ADAM slug?" Marie's voice was filled with shock.

"Of course." Replied Eleanor, struggling to keep her voice civil. She still hadn't forgiven Marie for remarks about Father but she didn't want Jack to think she held onto old grudges. "Why would you assume something like that?"

Jack gave an uncomfortable look. "Well, the Rescue plasmid Tenebaum developed removes the slugs from the Little Sisters without killing them. When I used it on you to try and cure your condition it didn't give me any ADAM slug."

Delta rumbled at the back of her head. **That is unsettling...**

_Why does it matter?_ Thought Eleanor. To Jack and Marie she said, "It's probably because I'm a teenager. Tenebaum no doubt designed the plasmid for pre-pubescent children. In any case, it hardly matters- the plasmid has done wonders to my condition. I haven't had any major flashbacks at all."

That wasn't entirely true- she just had a flashback right now, but it was minor, probably nothing worth worrying about. Delta grumbled uneasily at those thoughts but said nothing as Jack and Marie nodded in acceptance.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Good job with the bathysphere, Eleanor- I'm glad we brought you along." Eleanor beamed at Jack's praise, like a child who had been told Christmas had come early.

With those words, Jack took the wheel of the bathysphere and submerged the vehicle. And as the bathysphere descended into a projection powered on. Jack kept his face impassive as Andrew Ryan's signature jingle played. The airy and jovial tune fit perfectly with Andrew Ryan's immaturity. That fool's dreams of a free city on the bottom of an ocean was sensible only for a child. His sophomoric pride had ripped the city apart and destroyed any chance of Rapture's success.

To Jack's surprise, it was not Ryan's face that appeared on the screen, spewing his beliefs about sweat of a man's brow and creating an escape for the great. Instead the face of an unknown woman flicked on. The woman looked to be middle aged, with bright blond hair and horn-rim glasses. She had a kind and welcoming smile- an expression that was at odds with her shifty eyes and harsh facial features. With the way her hair was arranged, Jack couldn't help but associate her with a ferret- someone who appeared to be nice and fuzzy but was really vermin.

He didn't fail to notice Eleanor's body go stiff as a board either.

"Welcome child," The lady said- no, purred. It was almost as if she was singing each word. "No doubt you are afraid right now. For this I must apologize- change can be frightening. But fear no more, for you are about to embark on the journal of a life time! The creature besides you is not a metal monster, but your new older sister, a guardian angel who has taken you to a better life. You will have a new family now, a better family now- the Rapture family!"

"That's Sophia Lamb?" Asked Marie, her voice filled with amusement. "Wow Eleanor, I didn't know you were scared of overgrown hags. She seems more likely to nag someone to death than kill them!"

Eleanor jaw clench tightly, beneath her Big Sister helmet. She ignored Marie as Lamb continued to speak.

"You will have no shortage of brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers who will care for you. You will never be hungry, angry or sad ever again! Embrace your new family my child and you will live in eternal paradise forever! Behold...Rapture!"

**(A/N: Whew, been awhile hasn't it? Truth be told, this chapter has just been sitting on my computer for the last 3 months just waiting to be posted. The reason it took so long is because I absolutely detest how this turned out. But everytime I tried changing it, it only ended up worst. So after many revisions, I have pretty much the same chapter as what I first wrote. SIGH.**

**For those looking for a good Bioshock story, I recommend you check out 'Sea of Broken Dreams' by jschneids. It's also a Bioshock 3 story with a far more consistent update rate than this one!**

**Edited 11/16/10 for spelling errors.)**


	26. Chapter 26

With those words, the projection flew up and Rapture could be seen. Despite nearly a decade of war, decay and ocean pressure, the city was still looked as glorious as ever. Marie's eyes went wide as she moved closer to the window. She had seen the view once before, but she had only been a little girl- to her, this was the first she had ever seen such a spectable.

Behind her, Jack's eyes furrowed. He couldn't help but notice how many sections of the city had fallen to darkness. When last he had seen this, the city had been lit up like a Christmas tree, shining in all its glory. Now, it was nothing more than blackened shapes that lay on the ocean bed.

For Eleanor, she felt only intense dread. Here was the city that had ruined both Father and her own life. Here was the city that she wished to never return to. Here was the city that refused to let go of her life, that forever acted as her prison and cage. She was never going to escape was she?

**Do not fear Eleanor, **Delta whispered, pouring words of encouragement into her ear. **Before you were weak and shackled. Now, you are strong and free. Before, we were separated and apart. Now we are together, working as one. I promise you that you will not be staying here for long.**

Eleanor smiled, her fear decreased substantially. _Thank you, Father._

"So Eleanor," Eleanor glanced up at Jack's voice, the porthole of her helmet shining brightly like a flashlight into Jack's face. Jack ignored it as he continued, "You said the last place you saw Tenebaum was at the Atlantic Train Station?"

It was actually Father who had seen Tenebaum, but that hardly mattered. Eleanor nodded.

"Well, I've never been there before. You're going to have to point out where I have to go."

"Oh!" Eleanor blinked, feeling slightly silly for assuming Jack would know where to go. She pointed out the window. "You see that area at the one o'clock position, with the two prongs? Take us there."

"I see it," Jack pushed forward with the bathysphere. "I'll just take us nice and ea-"

Jack was interrupted by loud beeping. For a second the inhabitants looked confused before Jack looked out the window and groaned- of _course_ it couldn't be easy.

"Torpedo incoming!"

The girls were thrown off their feet as Jack immediately banked a hard right. The sphere shuddered as the torpedo exploded a few seconds later. The siren continued blaring- to the horror of the rescuers, dozens of torpedoes were speeding towards them.

"Take the wheel Marie!" Jack shouted, leaping to the window. A nearby torpedo was diverted as Jack pushed it away with his plasmids. "Eleanor, we need to use our Telekenisis! If any of those torpedoes hit, we're dead!"

Eleanor didn't need to be told twice, but she felt cold fear rush into her system. Stop countless torpedoes from hitting them with Telekenisis? She was extremely proficient with Telekenisis, but Jack was asking her to do the impossible! Still, it was better than doing nothing. Eleanor reached within herself and began grabbing the torpedoes and throwing them away. It was insanely difficult- not only were they moving at high speed, but in the dark ocean water, it was hard to see the missile until it was almost too late.

The results were clear as the torpedo explosions came closer and closer to the bathysphere. Sweat poured down Eleanor's brow and her head felt like it was going to split open from the intense concentration- she could feel a massive headache coming on.

_BOOM!_

The bathysphere rocked as a torpedo slipped past Eleanor's defense. It would have detonated on the ship hull if Jack hadn't managed to push it away in time. "Step your game up Eleanor!" He shouted. "I know you're stronger than this!"

"I'm trying!" Eleanor snapped. "Grabbing torpedoes isn't easy for all of us, Jack!"

For a moment Jack held a look of complete confusion. Then he realized Eleanor's error. "Don't grab the torpedoes themselves! Push the _water _around the torpedoes to redirect it!"

Oh. Eleanor's face turned red with embarrassment- God, she was such an idiot! No wonder Jack was superior to her. With those thoughts, she used her powerful telekinesis and began pushing the water. Instantly the number of close explosions began becoming less and less.

Jack gaped- he had forgotten how powerful Eleanor's plasmids were. Being a former Little Sister with excess ADAM certainly had its benefits.

He quickly snapped out of his awe. "Marie, take us down to the city! Eleanor, keep it up we're almost there!"

The torpedoes were knocked away with ease- they were going to make it! Eleanor felt empowered with the water- it was so much easier to push the liquid rather than the torpedoes themselves. She was-

_-swimming through the dark ocean, deeper than any man had gone before. The pressure was intense- even with her new experimental diving suit, she felt as if there were walls around her, closing in, trying to crush her. The suit barely protected her from the freezing temperatures- she had never felt this cold before. But even her muscles locked up and her fragile eyeballs ready to explode, she felt only excitement. For she had gone further than any before her, where no man she have ever been before._

_The clearly man-made buildings lighting the sea floor in front of her said otherwise._

_It was beautiful. The lights from the city seemed to light up the entire ocean floor. Towers soared high into the ocean floor, like underwater skyscrapers- or perhaps seascrapers was the better word? Eleanor didn't know and didn't care- today was definitely her lucky day. She already had the unique opportunity to to try out a new experimental diving suit designed to allow any man to go deeper than any man before. Now, with that very diving suit, she had discovered an unknown underwater city! This HAD to be the most amazing discovery for mankind!_

_A beeping noise tore Eleanor's awed gaze away from this unknown site. She was running out of air! If she wanted to make it back to the surface, she had to leave now._

_But Eleanor made no move to go back, her curiosity holding her back. Why was there a city on the bottom of the sea? Was it even man-made? Could it be aliens! Or perhaps some other sentient earth species that humanity had never encountered before? No, this was her day. She NEEDED to find out now!_

_She was so buried in her thoughts that Eleanor didn't notice the danger until it was too late. Suddenly, her entire body was illuminated in light from behind. She turned to see what looked like a large metal…sphere hurling at her at high speeds. She only had a second to see a woman behind a open glass window before the sphere smashed into her with a loud-_

_**BOOM!**_

Eleanor was thrown off her feet as the bathysphere rocked from an explosion, a torpedo taking advantage of her inattention. Jack shouted in pain as her armor-covered body collided into Jack's fleshy skin, and the two were sent tumbling head over heels as the bathysphere shook violently. Only Marie remained standing, clinging onto the steering with all her might as the vessel spun out of control.

"Engines are blown!" Marie screamed, as Jack and Eleanor struggled to their feet. "I can't steer at all!"

Jack's eyes went wide as Rapture grew larger and larger, the window giving them a clear view of their collusion course. "Grab on to something!" Jack ordered, as he wrapped around Marie in a protective bear hug. "We're going in hard!"

**_CRASH!_**

The bathysphere slammed into the wall of a flamboyant gold building, sending vibrations to every building around it. The walls had no chance as the sphere hit the aging metal like a wrecking ball, breaking through with a loud crash. The sphere tumbled in a whirling ball of destruction, smashing everything in its way before finally come to a rumbling halt.

The Ryan family had returned to Rapture.

* * *

Eleanor was the first to regain consciousness, her Big Sister suit having protected her from the majority of damage received in the collision. She stirred sluggishly, blinking wearily inside her helmet. It was pitch black- she could barely make out vague shapes with her enhanced vision.

_What happened? _She thought sluggishly, still out of it. She could feel a massive headache coming on- something she hoped that was caused by the collision and not from...other sources.

**One of the torpedoes slipped through your defense and hit our bathysphere. We have crashed landed in Rapture.**

_Where are we? _Eleanor tried to shake the cobwebs out of her head with no success.

Before Delta could respond, there was a loud crack as Jack lit a flare. Eleanor flinched as the bathysphere was instantly flooded with light. Besides her, Marie laid sprawled on the ground. She had a dazed look on her face, but for someone without any gene tonic upgrades she was relatively untouched despite the magnitude of the crash.

Jack, on the other hand, was in far worse shape. His protective bear hug around Marie had caused multiple, deep gashes across his back and arms. A large purple bruise was already forming around his face, his armor shell tonics only doing so much to lessen the damage. His eyes were sharp though as he lifted the flare up and took in the situation.

"Is everyone alright?" Asked Jack. His focused gaze was completely at odds with his disheveled state.

"Jesus Dad!" Marie pulled herself to her feet, her face red with anger and...shame? "What were you thinking? You look like complete shit now!"

Jack ignored her as the teen pulled out a medi-kit and began to heal his wounds. "Eleanor, what is our supply situation?"

Eleanor quickly glanced at their storage. Everything in the bathysphere that wasn't nailed down had been thrown about in a chaotic mess. Surprisingly, almost all of their supplies were in good condition. "We may have lost some of our food, but we're good to go with our weapons and ammo."

Most of the cuts had been healed and the massive bruise had been reduced to small bump thanks the wonders of Rapture medicine. Jack gestured his thanks to Marie as he cast a critical eye on their bathysphere. It had absolutely shredded by the explosive force of the torpedoes, almost to the point that it looked like a split potato. Honestly, it was a miracle they had managed to land in Rapture alive and relatively unharmed at all.

"What happened?" Jack asked. "Why were all those torpedoes shot at us?"

Eleanor glanced at Jack, her fingers curling nervously. "Those were the automated defense systems of Rapture. The whole city must have gone on lockdown when Lamb was killed. Anything going inbound or outbound of the city will be shot down."

"What?" Marie cried, vocalizing the thoughts they were all thinking. "You mean we're stuck here?"

"Quiet!" Eleanor hissed. "There could be splicers nearby."

Jack sighed, taking command. "While this lockdown complicates things, it wasn't unexpected. We always knew it would be harder leaving Rapture than entering. This doesn't change our mission, understood?."

As the girls voiced there confirmation, Jack pulled out his Tommy Gun and loaded it. "Let's move out then. Keep your eyes peeled- we've made a lot of noise. That ought to attract any splicers in the area."

Marie nodded, her fingers curled tightly around her crossbow. Eleanor was curious to see a nervous look on the Hispanic girl's face that was completely at odds with her boisterous attitude. In fact, Eleanor realized it was the first time she had anything besides anger on her face since they had left the surface.

_Not so superior now that you're actually here are you? _Thought Eleanor as she smiled smugly behind her helmet.

* * *

The three rescuers stepped out of the bathysphere, taking the room around them. The place was pitch black but a combination of flares, flashlights, a Big Sister diving suit light and Eleanor's ignite plasmid chased the darkness away and revealed the area.

They were in a large room. At one point it must have been some kind of grand ball room or other fancy area. Fragments of faded red carpet lay scatter around the ground. Massive windows were placed along the walls, giving a beautiful view of the city. The ripped remains of regal purple drapes hanged like dirty laundry over the window frames. In the middle of the room was a magnificent gold statue. It was in pristine condition, with the exception that its head was missing. It looked someone had grabbed it and brutally ripped it off.

"Where are we?" Marie asked. Her voice was at a slightly higher pitch than normal.

At Jack's expectant glance, Eleanor spoke- images and maps flashed into her mind and she now recognized where they were. "I'm not completely sure, but I believe we are in the Guild homes of Rapture. These were the homes were where the skilled specialist lived together, often in guilds. Plumbers, cooks, welders- they weren't necessarily rich but they were the part of the "best of the best" that Ryan strived to bring to Rapture. Most of these guilds those were not part of Ryan's inner circle lived which is probably why he put them here. For the most part this area is cut off from the rest of Rapture, so we'll have to take a bathysphere back into Rapture. Luckily, almost all of these houses have private bathyspheres, so it will be a simple matter of finding one."

Jack frowned. "I thought that only Ryan's inner circle could use the bathyspheres. That's was one of the reasons why Fontaine needed me to kill Ryan."

Eleanor smiled, though Jack couldn't see it through her helmet. She liked when Jack asked her questions- for once, she was glad that Lamb had made her "study" (read: forced the knowledge into her brain) the relatively-short history of Rapture. "That was only after the civil war Jack. And when Lamb took power, she allowed only the Big Sisters access to the bathyspheres as well."

"So I wouldn't be able to use the bathysphere system at all anymore?"

Eleanor paused as a memory from Father flashed into her head, a young man's excited voice speaking into her ear.

_All right, Diary - last entry! ... Lizzy and I ... we found a 'sphere and we're going home! Ain't that right, baby? Next stop, topside!_

"Not anymore," Replied Eleanor shaking her head. "After some failed escape attempts from the relatives of Ryan's inner circle, Lamb closed off all bathysphere access except to those with Big Sister suits."

"So which way are the apartments?"

"That way." Eleanor pointed at an elevator on the east side of the room. "But it won't do us any good to go now. All apartments are sealed by a code. We're going to need to grab one before we can get out of here." She paused as she brought up what she could remember of the map schematics in her mind. "There should be interrogation rooms in that direction," She pointed at a long, dimly-lit hallway on the north side of the room. "There might be some kind of computer system we can hack there. If any place would have people's private information, why not the police force of this area?"

"Can we get a move on?" Marie interrupted, her eyes darting around as if expecting to get jumped at any second. "This place is giving me the creeps."

Jack said nothing as he gestured for Eleanor to take point. With her Big Sister armor and regeneration, she was the perfect vanguard. Marie quickly fell in step behind her with Jack coming in from the rear, ever watchful of their surroundings.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to all the reviews! Here are some answers to some common questions I've been getting (especially from anon reviews):**

**Q1. Will this be a Eleanor/Jack romance story?**

**A1: Eleanor certainly hopes so!**

**Q2: Why the long delay?**

**A2: As I said before, I was extremely dissatisfied with Chapter 25. With school going on, it was unfortunately very easy for me just to place the story on the back burner. I'll be even more busy in the next couple of weeks due to upcoming Finals but after that it'll be winter break!**

**Q3: Why don't you correct mistakes that have been pointed out?**

**A3: To be honest, I didn't realize there was an edit chapter feature in FFN- I had assumed to edit chapters, I would have to delete and re-up the chapter...And of course, I never bothered to ask =_=. Luckily, one of my reviewers pointed this feature out so I'll be editing my previous chapters for glaring errors. Please give me a headsup if you find one!**

**Q4: Why are your author notes long as [insert unpleasant descriptions]?**

**A4: Sorry, I like my A/N's :(**

**(Edited 7/19/12 for minor spelling errors)  
**


	27. Chapter 27

The journey was rather tame. Unlike other areas in Rapture, the Guild's Building was in pretty good shape. Aside from having almost no lighting at all, it was structurally sound and not in any danger of collapsing- even when hit by out-of-control bathyspheres. After leaving the ball room, the rescuers had walked down long empty hallways; though hallways weren't the correct term. Over ten feet wide, these "hallways" were clearly the public walking areas, appearing more like elongated rooms than passages.

It was actually slightly disturbing how empty the halls were- there were no corpses, no vending machines, no random garbage, nothing. Just long dark empty halls that seemed to close around you, trapping you at the bottom of the ocean.

It didn't take too long before the rescuers reached a series of rooms. It was there they encountered there first... confrontation.

"Use the pipes!"

Eleanor gave a growl of fustration. Jack was a good man... a great man, even: someone that Eleanor could respect like Father.

But by God, he was so old fashioned!

"No Jack! Redirecting the fluid is such an inefficient way of hacking things! It's outdated and takes forever! You have to ride the currents!"

They were in a hospital room which had clearly seen better days. Dozens of bent, twisted beds were packed at the end of the room, creating a makeshift metal wall. They hadn't gotten a chance to explore the area as there was a medi-station at the front entrance. Both Jack and Eleanor had decided that it was necessary to hack the device; this they both easily agreed on.

The method of hacking was a completely different story.

Jack scoffed. "Are you kidding? Not only do you have a time limit, you have to hit the right currents at the exact times! You're basically making the hacking three times as hard to save maybe one or two seconds- and if you're as good at manipulating the flow of coolant as I am, you'll actually be losing time!"

"It's not about speed!" Cried Eleanor, waving her hands around and nearly slashing Marie with her needle. "Using the hacking needle is more efficient and allows you to gain greater rewards! And you can move while manipulating the currents!"

"Umm...Why don't we just smash open the medi-station and take whatever first aid kits fall out?" Ventured Marie. She immediately backed off as both Eleanor and Jack glared at her- as if it was blasphemy to even _suggest_ using brute force on a machine.

Eleanor took a small breath and calmed herself. "Look, just let me hack this first aid here with my method. Then, you can hack the next first aid station we find. After that, we'll decide which method is the best."

Jack shrugged. He supposed it wasn't that big of a deal and it would be interesting to see an alternative method. "Go ahead," He replied.

Eleanor flashed a smile that her helmet hid as she walked up the machine. Getting ready to hack the machine, her gloves reached out and carefully opened the machine. Her hands twitched slightly as electricity jumped from the machine and-

_-jolted her awake. Eleanor made no movement to indicate she had woken. Instead, she lay back and took a deep breath, instantly recognizing the sterile smell of a medical center. The rocky, slightly-uncomfortable bed that all hospitals only proved what Eleanor had already figured- once again, she had extended too far beyond her limits and was now in medical attention. Any second now her mother would bust into the room and scream at her for 'risking your life' and other such nonse-_

_Wait a minute. How did she get in a hospital? She had been testing the new diving suit, going deeper than any man had gone before! She had just discovered an entire new city before she had been hit by that...sphere. How did she get into a hospital unless...?_

_Ah crap, she was dead wasn't she?_

_"Aye, how long you plannin' to stay in bed? You haven't gone tits up on me have ya?"_

_Eleanor eyes snapped open at the female Austrialian voice and she sat straight up like a rod. She had only a second to take in the profile of a woman sitting next to her before she felt a fist smash into her cheek with a loud _POW._ The unexpected blow sent her sprawling out of the bed. Stars seem to explode in front of her eyes and she suddenly couldn't think or see straight._

_"Well, you're a lively topsider. Surprised me though. Sorry about that, love."_

_In Eleanor's opinion, the Australian woman didn't sound like she was sorry. She began blinking rapidly her eyes trying to clear her head. The strange woman simply sat in her chair watching her and made no attempt to help her up. "Aww, did the mean girl snuff you up?" The woman jeered, no doubt thinking from her rapid blinking that she was crying._

_"You know, seeing that you smashed your fist into my face, you could have given me a hand," Eleanor said in a crossed-voice, as she pulled herself up- slowly this time, and on guard. Now that the world wasn't spinning, she could see who was talking to her._

_It was a young woman dressed in a green pilot jump suit with aviator goggles resting snuggly on the top of her helmet. She was picking her nails with an absolute bored expression on her face as she stared at Eleanor. In contrast to her bored expression, her eyes held an odd fire in them, as if challenging Eleanor._

_"Hey, its you're fault for being so slow topsider. Still, you couldn't have been bested by better!"_

_Wow, this Australian was really arrogant wasn't she? Eleanor couldn't help but take part in the banter. "Oh I've got plenty of speed. Why don't you try punching me now that I'm ready?"_

_The bored expression disappeared as the woman gave a cocky smirk. "Fighting you would be like fighting boredom itself mate!"_

_Eleanor opened her mouth to retort but the words died in her throat as she took in her surroundings. She wasn't in a hospital- or in any hospital she had ever seen before. It was more like a room with a bed and a couple of cabinet. The only thing that could be used to mark this as a medical center of some kind was an odd machine attached to the far wall that had the Red Cross painted on its front._

_She definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore._

_"What is that thing?" Eleanor pointed at the device._

_"That's a medi-station mate," The Australian replied nonchalantly. "You were as closed as you could get to dying when I brought you in. Without that little wonder miracle, you would have been a pile of jelly now. Don't worry love; you're up to full speed now!"_

_Eleanor suddenly remembered the circumstances that had landed her in this situation. "Where the hell am I?" Demanded Eleanor, backing away from the woman, who was still sitting in her chair. "Why do you keep calling me topsider?"_

_The woman smiled. "Wow, either they're making topsiders slower than ever or you're just a dumb one."_

_"Stop jerking me around!" Eleanor shouted. "Just tell me where I am!"_

_If it was possible, the woman's smile grew even wider as she uttered one word. "Rapture."_

Eleanor was pulled back to reality as the medi-center gave a loud beep and zapped her full of electricity. She hissed in pain and pulled back. The machine had shocked her for her inactivity.

"Whoops..." Eleanor quickly said before the others could say anything. "Looks like I'm a little out of practice. Let me try that again."

Marie only scoffed, ignorant to any deception. Jack had a pensive look across his face but said nothing.

Eleanor had to struggle to keep her hands steady as she went to work again. Her head felt like it was going to split in half. A wave of nausea swept over and she felt bile rise up in the back of her throat and threaten to explode. She swallowed and ignored the painful affects of her condition and began on the med-station. In only a few short seconds, the hack was complete. With a loud whirl, the hacked medi-station spat out a aid kit, that landed on the ground with a soft thud.

Jack eyes went wide. "You got a free health kit from hacking?"

"Mmmmmmmmmph!"

The muffled scream came from behind the rows of bed that lined the hospital room, warning the inhabitants they were not alone and prompting the rescuers into immediate action. All levity disappeared from Jack's face as he motioned for the two girls to take their positions. Marie moved backwards, dropping down to one knee, making herself a smaller target- with absolutely no gene tonics, Marie was the most vulnerable of the group, with only her thin human skin to protect her. She propped her crossbow on her shoulder and readied herself to shoot anything that moved.

Eleanor, on the other hand, step forward, standing straight as she made herself a bigger target. Although her fighting style focused more on speed and agility, she understood that with her armor and regeneration she was most suited for acting as the team's meatshield. Two fireballs erupted, one hovering above each hand, as she readied herself for battle.

The room was filled with tense silence as the trio waited with baited breath. There was no doubt something on the other side of the room, but the many beds piled on top of each other blocked their view and gave the unknown threat valuable cover. Recognizing this problem, Jack turned to Eleanor and whispered, "Telekinesis."

Eleanor understood immediately. She dispersed the fireball floating over her right hand while keeping her left burning. Together, she and Jack reached out with their telekinesis and in one quick movement, lifted the beds and threw them away.

The effect was instantaneous. For a split second, Eleanor saw _dozens_ of health packs in many neatly stacked columns. These columns sat surrounding..._something._ It looked like some kind of mud monster but before Eleanor could get a closer look everything went to hell.

The neatly stacked columns of medikits were sent flying all over the room as the thing dashed forward in a massive gust of wind. Eleanor and Jack had barely any time to react as the dozens of medikits pelted their faces. The dirt creature dashed right between the two, slipping past them with incredible speed. The _thing_ was far too fast before either of them could even attempt to stop him.

But not for Marie. In her protected position at the back of the room, she calmly aimed down the crossbow and pulled the trigger.

_Twang!_

The creature stumbled as a bolt buried deep into his thigh. It continued its stumbling charge, forcing Marie to leap out of the way.

To the trio's surprise the creature ignored Marie and dove straight for the medikit station. It grabbed the fallen white package, wrapped it's arms around it in a big bear hug, and shouted, "MINE!"

The rescuer's exchanged as confused glances as they aimed their weapons at the creature. Now that the creature had stopped running she could clearly see that it was not an animal or monster in front of her but an absolutely _filthy_ short man. He was covered from head to toe in dirt. He had only patches of dirty-brown hair on his head. His face was mangled with scars and cuts and when Eleanor looked closely, she could even see dirt buried in his cuts.

"Who are you?" Demanded Jack.

The man glared at him. "I'm the one asking the questions!" He shouted, ignoring the multiple guns and plasmids ready to eviscerate him. "Who the hell do you people think you are? You come into MY territory, hack my machines, shoot me, and worst of all, TRY TO STEAL MY MEDKITS! These are MY medkits! Not yours! Mine! Mine, mine mine!"

The rescuers exchanged a significant glance. This man clearly had a few screws loose. Not surprising considering their location.

The gears in Jack's head were already turning. He gestured to the girls to lower their weapons. As the leader of the group, he stepped forward and spoke. "We didn't know that this was your property. We wouldn't have taken anything if we had known. On behalf of my friends here, I apologize."

The man pulled the bolt out of his thigh and used the medkit in his hands to heal the wound. "Hmph. Well, you _should_ have known. Still, I'm glad I don't have to kill you. Too much killing in this place. Everything would be much better if we just got along."

Jack nodded- he understood that sentiment completely. "You're right. So let's settle this without violence. We don't want to take any of your stuff. We're just looking for someone in this city. Maybe you can help us?"

The man scowled. "This is bad business son! Everyone knows you can't make a deal without introducing yourself! You can't rush these things!"

Jack raised an eyebrow at the sudden switch but humored the man. "Very well. My name is Jack. My companions are Eleanor and Marie. What is your name?"

The man scowled even further. "What? Who do you think you are asking for my name? That's valuable information son!"

Marie's eye twitched as her hand slowly drifted back to her crossbow. Jack shot a warning look before turning to the man. "Look, you don't have to tell me your name. All we're looking for is any information that might help us find the person we're looking for. The sooner we get this, the sooner we can get out of your hair and leave your territory. Okay?"

The man sighed in annoyance. "Didn't I just say that? I don't have all day, so hurry up and ask away."

Marie gave a growl that sent waves of amusement in both Eleanor and Delta: they felt no impatience as they were quite use to dealing with the crazies Rapture often produced. Jack ignored them all as he dove straight into business. "We're looking for Brigid Tenebaum. Do you know her?"

"Eh? That German scientist who made them little sisters? Rapture's finest?" Jack and Marie eagerly nodded. "Nope, don't know her."

Jack's body seemed to deflate. "What do you mean?"

The man crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air. "I know ABOUT her, but I don't actually know her."

Jack took a deep breath, reaching into his large pool of patience. "Well, we're looking for her now, so do you know where she is?"

"Nope. Far as I know, she left this place eight years ago and never came back."

"Oh she's definitely back," Eleanor quickly interjected: she didn't want Jack to think she had been lying. "You've been here for God knows how long. Makes sense you wouldn't know about what's going on in the rest of the city."

Once again the man defied expectations. Instead of getting angry, he merely gave a booming laugh. "That's right Eleanor. Lamb never could reach her claws into MY territory. What goes on in the rest of the city is none of my concern."

Eleanor felt a shiver go her spine as the man gave a knowing look at her. It was as if he knew _exactly_ who she was despite the Big Sister armor.

Jack took advantage of the silence to jump in. "Do you know how to get to the main city?"

"I sure do," The man said scratching his belly. "I have a private bathysphere in my apartment that could take me anywhere I wanted in the city...or at least it use to before Lamb blocked off all access but it looks like you already got that part covered. " The man glanced at the Eleanor in her Big Sister armored suit before looking at Jack again. " 'Course, no one can get in the apartment except for me..."

The man trailed off, giving them a significant look. Jack gave another sigh and went straight to business. "What do you want?"

"Nothing that wouldn't inconvenience you too much," The man leaned back against the wall and propped his arm on top of the hacked medi-station. He yelped as the station shocked him. "You see, I'm not too popular around in this part. This place is my territory but I had to step on a lot of toes to get it. Since I'm a pacifist it's been...hard for me to move about."

"What does being a pacifist have anything to do with that?" Interrupted Marie.

Eleanor rolled her eyes from inside her helmet. What a naive and foolish girl. Down in Rapture, swearing not to hurt anyone didn't make you harmless, it made you more of a target- it made you look like a weak and easy take.

The man grimaced. "Well, before I became a pacifist, I was a bit psychotic. I was greedy and wanted everything. And I didn't let anyone stand in my way. When the civil war broke out and that damn Sinclair started giving out rewards for testing his weapons, I went on a bit of a killing spree."

The man paused a regretful look on his face taking hold of his face. "For the next six years."

"But I've turned a new leaf now!" The man quickly interjected. "I'm a pacifist now!"

Eleanor cast a critical eye on the man. "A pacifist in Rapture? That can't be working out well for you."

The man scratched the back of his with a downcast look upon his face. "It was alright at first- everyone just left me alone because my reputation was so...fierce. But now that I haven't killed or hurt anyone, everyone is breaching my territory and trying to kill me."

His face twisted with sorrow. "And I definitely deserve it. All those people I killed...all in the name of Sinclair's damn research..."

At the back of her head, Eleanor felt Delta give the mental equivalent of an awkward squirm. She couldn't blame him- although Sinclair had helped them greatly in their escape, he was still a greedy man at heart. He had hurt a lot of people, both intentionally and accidental.

The man suddenly smiled widely, the dirt on his face stretching out. "And that's why I need your help. It's too dangerous out here. Escort me back to my apartment and I'll let you have my bathysphere."

Jack nodded in agreement despite not having a choice in the matter. He extended his hand. "Very well. Lead the way and we will protect you."

The man extended his hand and shook it. "Excellent! Let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the better off we all are."

**(A/N: Thanks to laicka, Unidentified, Bydo, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Rickmer, Forgotten Honor, morbus-rus, and CoralianBoy for your reviews! You guys motivate to wrote!**

**Also: According to Bioshock Wiki, Jack had the physical body of a 19 year old in Bioshock 1. Since I thought Bioshock 2 took place 10 years after BS1 instead of 8, I figured Jack at 29 to 30 years of age when I planned this story out. **

**Also, if you leave an anon review, I can't reply to you! :( Please make an account if you have a question!)**

**(Edited 7/19/12 for minor spelling errors and awkward wording)**


	28. Chapter 28

The trio, now turned into a quartet began backtracking through the dark halls. It was an uncomfortable experience- the dim lights continually flickered, casting odd shadows all over the place. The steady rhythmic dripping of leaking water only added to the frightening environment as the _drip-drip _sounds echoed down the wide and long empty halls. It felt like someone or something was waiting for them around every corner.

In other words, it felt just like Rapture.

The formation had changed slightly- instead of Eleanor as the vanguard, it was the Man who now led them, claiming that only he knew the "right" way to get to his apartment. Eleanor didn't think it was the best plan- after all, since the Man wanted their protection, he should be placed in the middle of the group, not in the front exposed to danger. Still, the Man wasn't the most sane person in the world and Eleanor couldn't be bothered to think about it at the moment. Her body was on full auto-pilot as she conversed with Father.

**Your condition is degenerating.**

_Yes Father. _Feeling her migraine throb painfully, Eleanor brought her hand up to her head. Then she remembered she was wearing a helmet and gloves and quickly dropped her hand, feeling a bit foolish.

**Ridiculous. **Growled Delta. **Jack has lied to us. His plasmid was suppose to cure your condition.**

Eleanor pursued her lips at Father's accusation. She didn't believe a man as kind as Jack would have purposely lied. _He did tell us that he thought it would only be a temporary fix. And he also didn't know that my ADAM slug was still in my stomach. _

**He has broken the deal Eleanor. In exchange for helping him, he was suppose to cure your condition. Now you are trapped in Rapture...again. **

Eleanor grimaced. She really wished Father wouldn't blame Jack for their predicament. _Well...there's much not we can do Father._

Delta gave a heavy sigh. **Unfortunately, you are right. We are all at the mercy of Rapture. We must work together or die. Our only hope is that this Tenebaum is still alive...and willing to help us.**

Eleanor quickly sought to change the subject. _Who am I seeing anyway? That diver...I've never seen or heard of her before._

**Do not forget that Lamb was attempting to splice the memories and knowledge of Rapture's finest into your mind. Perhaps that was one of the memories she spliced. **

Eleanor scowled. As if she could ever forget what Lamb had attempted to do to her. _I don't think so Father. Before, the only memories I've seen are those of Little Sisters that I could take control of. I think I have to have a connection with the memory in order to have a flashback with it._

**Your condition may have changed due to Jack's attempts to help you. The situation is different now.**

Eleanor winced as her head throbbed even more. _I just wish they would stop. That it would stop hurting._

Eleanor felt a ghostly tingle on the back of her head, as if someone was stroking her hair. She smiled at the pleasant feeling as Delta spoke in a soft voice. **I'm sorry to hear that Eleanor. I wish there was something I could do.**

There was a pause of silence as Eleanor continued following the Man. Then Delta spoke slowly, as if concentrating hard...

**That memory...it does seem very familiar...**

Before Delta could continue, Eleanor was snapped back to reality as the Man suddenly stopped. Eleanor's armor gave a loud squeek as she barely managed to avoid colliding into the back of the Man.

"What's wrong?" Asked Jack, once again taking charge as the spokesman. He walked past Marie allowing his daughter to watch their back.

The Man tilted his nose in the air and sniffed. An odd smile broke out across his dirty face. "You know I'm not helping you if we get attacked right?"

Jack's Tommie Gun was out, his expression cautious. "I had hoped that wouldn't be the case, but since you declared yourself a pacifist, I had assumed it was unavoidable. Are we about to be attacked?"

The Man's smile grew wider. He said only one word before the red cloud of the Houdini plasmid wrapped around him and took him away. "Yup."

And then all the lights went out and the rescuers were placed in pitch black darkness.

* * *

Jack didn't hesitate for a second as he immediately cracked open a flare and threw it on the ground, "Group up!" He shouted. Marie and Eleanor instantly jumped towards Jack and the three fighters formed a defensive triangle, guns pointing outwards.

There was a minute of silence as the three huddle around the only light source left, ready to fire at any attackers. Seeing no one attacking immediately, Jack whispered orders to Marie. "Lay some electric traps around us. Just a two or three- we just need some feelers out there to see who we're up against."

Marie complied, bringing her crossbow to bear and began setting up electric traps. The traps were almost complete invisible in the dark, with the occasional spark lighting them up briefly. Jack turned to Eleanor. "You have idea what we're up against? Are these tactics associated with any splicers?"

Eleanor shook her head as she reviewed her knowledge. "Not that I know of. Knocking out the lights sounds like something Houdini Splicers or Spider Splicers would do but we would hear them coming- plus, in the darkness they would be just as handicapped as us."

**We are most likely facing splicers that rely on stealth and shock, **Delta added.** That is why they would need to destroy the lighting.**

Elenor repeated those words. Jack nodded. "That's what I had suspected. I've never faced a splicer that could wait more than a minute or two before attacking. Still, if these are stealth-based splicers, as long as we stay grouped together around the light, I doubt they'll be able to pull off a frontal-"

And then it was at that exact moment a two red explosive barrels were thrown at them.

"DOWN!" Jack screamed. Eleanor instinctively jumped away while Jack grabbed Marie by the back of her shirt and pulled her down and used his body cover her.

_BOOM!_

The barrels exploded in a fierce fashion, sending a powerful shockwave that sent the group flying away from each other into the pitch black.

And then the splicers attacked.

* * *

Eleanor's head was spinning inside her helmet as she was sent tumbling away. She had taken the brunt of the explosion- whoever had thrown the barrels had been aiming specifically for her in her Big Sister armor. As she tried to pull herself to her feet, three wracking coughs came from her mouth, sending blood splattering inside her helmet. It felt as if someone had grabbed her insides and thrown them into a gut-filled blender.

Eleanor didn't get a chance to recover as she felt a massive blow smash into her back, flipping her over with a loud thud. Waves of pain wracked her body as her assailant sending blow after blow into her front, the armor doing little to dull the pain. There was no light and her suit lights were broken- Eleanor couldn't see at all as she began lashing out in blind panic, trying desperately to stop the blows, to stop the pain-

**Calm down! Use telekinesis!**

Eleanor instantly complied at Father's sharp command ceasing her struggle. She ignored the painfully blows as she reached down into herself and pulled at her telekinesis.

"Get...**OFF**!" She screamed, throwing a powerful wave of telekinesis that sent everything around flying away.

* * *

Jack gave a small groan of pain as he pulled the pieces of metal from his arms and back. His gene tonics had offered some protection from the deadly shrapnel, but did little beyond keeping him alive.

Beneath him Marie's face was red as she pulled herself out from under him. Shame flooded into her system- was she so weak that her father yet again had to become her human meatshield? "Damn it Dad!" She swore, as she began applying a medkit to stop Jack's bleeding. "Stop protecting me! I can take care of myself!"

"It's not that," Jack protested. He gave a hiss of pain as he tried to move- his legs felt like they were complete jelly. "Its because you have no gene tonics"

Marie knew that wasn't the truth. Even if Jack didn't have gene tonics and was as vulnerable as herself, he still would have thrown himself in front of her. She was just too weak to fend for herself.

Marie mouth snapped shut as she felt alarm bells finely tuned from sparing against Dad's wrench-lurker gene tonic go off in her head. In a flash her crossbow was in her hand. Marie swung the crossbow around, her finger on the trigger...

Only to see a massive fist swinging straight towards her. She barely managed to pull her crossbow up and use it as a crude shield before the blow made impact.

_Crack!_

The flimsy crossbow was snapped like a twig, sending wood shards flowing all over the place. The fist continued its momentum slamming into Marie's gut with a loud _smack! _throwing her off her feet.

It felt like she had been hit by a train. Vomit and blood spurted out of her mouth and for a moment Marie could only think of pain. Training took over though and she tucked her body and hit the ground in a roll, barely avoiding a second, equally devastating blow. Ignoring the pain, Marie jumped out of her roll, pulling out her revolver and aimed at-

Nothing. Her attacker had disappeared, taking cover in the shadows. Marie's eyes widen in confusion before they narrowed in concentration. Blood and vomit dripped out of her mouth as her pupils darted back and forth as a bead of sweat inched down her forehead. She scanned the darkness, trying to swallow her fear (and immediately winced in disgust as she swallowed the remaining blood and vomit that was pooled in her mouth). Her non-spliced eyesight did little to pierce the shadows and only added to an increasing heartbeat.

"Get...**OFF**!"

Marie instinctively glanced at the direction of Eleanor's shout. The motion saved her life as at that moment the splicer launched his attack from behind Marie. The Ryan daughter saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and dove out of the way...

_CRACK!_

Marie scream in pain as the fist missed her head but slammed into her right shoulder. The bones in her arm folded to the mighty blow and her revolver fell from her now useless right hand. She fell on her back, cradling her right arm, unable to do anything but stare up at her attacker. At this close proximity she could make out the shape of her attacker. The splicer had an extremely thin body- it looked like a strong gust could snap it in half. This frail appearance was mared by the splicer's arms. They were MASSIVE- as large and far thicker than the creatures torso. It was like someone had grafted two huge tree trunks onto a twig body. The disproportion reminded Marie of gorillas, as the splicer stood on all fours, using its massive arms to support its small body.

As the splicer rose one of its massive fist to finish her off, Marie felt no fear: only disgust and rage. Disgust that she was about to die. Disgust that she was proving that bitch Eleanor was right: she couldn't survive Rapture. Disgust that she had failed Dad: she knew he would blame himself when it was truly her fault. And most of all, rage that she was so damn weak and useless that all she could do was lay and back and watch herself die-

_BZzzzzzt!_

The splicer gave a yelp of pain as a bolt of electricty slammed into him. Confused, Marie turned her head to see Jack with his hand outstretched. Her father locked eyes with her and smiled. "Take him down Marie!" He shouted.

At those words Marie blocked out her pain and focused on her rage. With a scream, she surged to her feet and smashed her head into the splicer's face.

If Marie had been thinking straight, she would have picked up her fallen revolver and simply shot the splicer in the face. The result would have been the same, but far less messy. Instead, at the impact of Marie's rage-induced headbutt, the splicer's face simply _collapsed_. Muscle and skin crumbled as blood and brain matter splattered all over Marie's face and hair.

Marie blinked in confusion then did the only sensible thing in that situation. She barfed a nice pool of blood and puke.

"Marie! Marie!" Her father's face hovered into view, his eyes wide with concern as she shouted, "Are you alright?"

Marie face twitch weakly as the world seemed to spin. She struggled to keep her eyes open but she couldn't block the pain any longer. And before Jack could say anything, she promptly passed out, one word echoing as darkness overcame her.

_Weak..._

**(A/N: Finals are over! Now I should be able to get back into the swing of writting again and hopefully maintain a better update rate. **

**Also, some reviewers have been asking if anything from the Minvera(sp?) DLC is going to be in this story. To this, my answer is NO. First, I planned out this story before that DLC came out. Second, I own Bioshock on my PC. The DLC is unfortunately Xbox exclusive. Since I suspect they will eventually release it for PC or that I'll eventually be able to play it on a friend's Xbox, I've maintained kept myself in a blackout on any infomation regarding the DLC. I've done so well, I didn't even know who Subject Sigma was when one of my reviewers mentioned him/her/it!**

**So no spoilers please :) **

**Thanks to Insurgo, FacingWorlds, L.D, William, jschneids, Big Sister K, morbus-rus, Rickmer, Forgotten Honor, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, SHADOWPLEXIS, zGreece for your reviews!)**


	29. Chapter 29

The medikit sent instant relief through Eleanor's system, dulling the pain. Silence descended around her, with only the faint yells as Marie and Jack no doubt engaged in their own battle. She quickly shoved that thought out of her mind- she had to focus on her own problems. It was complete darkness around her- the nearest light source were the flames ignited by the exploding barrel in the middle of the room.

As Eleanor stood there in the darkness, Delta whispered into her mind. **Stay calm and clear your mind Eleanor. Your attacker must have some kind of gene tonic to quiet his footsteps as well as the ability to pierce this nightly veil. But while his steps may be silent the rest of his body is not. Concentrate and listen!**

So Eleanor closed her eyes. She had no need for her sight...only her ears. She took a deep breath as she began to block out all the sounds. The crackling of fire, the sounds of Marie and Jack's battle, the rush of wind as someone swung their fist down-

Eleanor leapt to her side as a massive fist slammed where she was standing, the huge blow glancing against her armor with a loud _bang!_ Her suit shook violently from the blow, but Eleanor ignored it as she launched a kick out at her unseen assailant followed by a fireball. Her attacker was too fast though, as he dodged both attacks and melted back into the shadows...

Except the burst of flame had revealed her assailants appearance. With her attacker's face in mind Eleanor reached out with her telekinesis and with one sharp jerk of her telekinesis pulled the splicer tumbling towards her.

Straight into her waiting needle-blade.

_Shh-ck._

It was another gorilla-like splicer, identical to the one Marie and Jack had fought that was now impaled on Eleanor's needle. To Eleanor's surprise the full length of short blade had sunk straight through the splicer's thin body, and out the other side. There seem to be no muscle mass in the main body, allowing even the dullest of weapons to cut through the skin like butter.

Eleanor's attention was brought to the splicer who gave a rasping gasp. Bringing the splicer closer to her face, Eleanor was surprise to see a gaunt and thin man starting back at her. There was barely any meat on his face- his cheeks were sunken and Eleanor could see his skull beneath the thin and pale skin. The splicer's eyes stared straight into her helmet, wide and in pain.

**I see...all attack and no defense, **Said Delta. **No wonder these splicers need to attack from the dark. **

Eleanor said nothing as she simply stared at the splicer's emancipated body. She could clearly see his ribs beneath his thin skin. A wave of pity came over Eleanor: how could this splicer have done this to himself? While his arms rippled with power, the rest of his body suffered from starvation, devoid of any nutrients as his over enlarged fist sapped everything.

**Well, what are you waiting for? Kill him. I suggest you light him on fire. Not only will it provide a light source but if there are other splicers watching, it will serve as a warning and possibly discourage them from attacking you.**

Eleanor still did nothing. Instead she thought about Jack. What would he do? What was he DOING? No doubt he had fought his own strange splicer. Eleanor knew he would come out victorious...but would he kill the splicer? Or would Jack spare him?

**Why would he spare an animal? **Asked Delta, having picked up her last thought. **Splicers are crazed drug addicts. Even _Jack_ wouldn't spare them.**

Eleanor frowned. It almost sounded like Father was bitter...but why?

In any case, Father was right. She was thinking too hard- Jack didn't spare splicers. Killing them was probably a mercy. Still, instead of lighting the splicer on fire, she reached up behind the splicer and snapped the man's frail neck with ease. _Jack would have wanted me to do that_, Eleanor mused, as she placed the splicer's body gently on the ground. _A quick and painless death._

And as Eleanor walked and began looking for Jack, Delta was silent.

* * *

After a bit of stumbling about (her suitlight had been damaged by the explosion and a single fireball served as a poor flashlight), Eleanor walked over to Jack and Marie. A flare had been lit, lighting the room area them. Jack cradled an unconscious Marie, her gore and blood soaked face resting on the man's lap. Jack didn't even bother acknowledging Eleanor's presence as he applied multiple healthkits on to Marie's shattered arm. The combined power of Rapture's science slowly began to regenerate the Hispanic girl's arm.

"What happened?" Asked Eleanor, as she took off her Big Sister helmet and shook her sweaty brown hair out of their cramped confines. Sharp blue eyes took in the gore and brain parts that soaked the Hispanic girl's hair, wondering what exactly had transpired.

Jack eyes snapped from his daughter. Eleanor immediately took a step back as Jack glared at the armored Big Sister with pure, rage. Unconsciously, Eleanor bent her legs in preparation to move- Jack looked like he was about to explode. "That's exactly my question!" He hissed in anger. "Why didn't you tell me about that damn thing?"

Eleanor felt fear pile in her stomach and she struggled not to take another step back. Jack could be very frightening when he was angry. "W-What?"

A revolver was instantly in Jack's hand and aimed straight at Eleanor's unprotected face causing the girl to quickly take another step back. Eleanor was pretty sure she could survive a shot to the face (she did it before!) but she wasn't about to tempt faith again. "I said, why the hell didn't you tell me about this splicer type? You were suppose to tell me about all the new splicers that had formed in the last eight years as per our deal!" Jack spat out.

Eleanor held her hands up in an attempt to calm him. "I didn't know!" She protested, her voice trembling. "I've never seen this splicer type either! I didn't betray you, I swear!"

At the sound of her frightened voice, Jack instantly deflated. His hand dropped to the ground as a look of guilt crossed his face. "I...I know you wouldn't betray us Eleanor. I'm sorry...I'm just angry."

He looked down at Marie's slack face with pure sorrow over his face. "I...I shouldn't brought her here to Rapture. She wasn't ready."

At the broken look on Jack's face, Eleanor felt her heart twisted painfully. She didn't want Jack to be sad! It wasn't right. She walked over to Jack and hesitated. She wanted to hug him but she didn't know how Jack would respond. She settled for placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's not your fault Jack," She whispered. "She wanted to come to Rapture. She knew the danger."

"No she didn't," Jack interrupted. "She didn't know the danger. But that's why I let her come. Because she needed to understand why I bothered training her in the first place. Marie had built her own little world and she needed to get out of it. I thought she was ready...but...but I was-"

"You weren't wrong," Eleanor gave Jack a re-assuring squeeze. "You weren't wrong about me. You're not wrong about Marie. Believe in me Jack...believe in Marie...and believe in yourself."

Inwardly, Eleanor heard Father scoff at the cliche. She ignored him.

Jack smiled- it was one of his honest smiles that sent flutters in Eleanor's heart. "Thanks Eleanor. I needed that."

The moment was interrupted by a flash of movement, that sent Eleanor and Jack on guard. They quickly relaxed as they realized it was the Man that they were suppose to be protecting- the one that had promised to give them access to his personal bathysphere.

"Ahoya!" The Man said, waving his hand cheerily. "Glad to see you guys took care of those Silent Sluggers!"

"Silent Sluggers?" Asked Eleanor.

"Yup, those gorrilla splicers are people who've invested all their ADAM into super strength and stealth tonics. They rely on hit-and-run tactics cause they're absolute paper!"

"Wait a minute. You knew about these kind of splicers?" Jack's anger was back as it found a new outlet. "Why the hell didn't you tell us!"

It was a testament to how scary Jack looked that even the Man, who had no clue to how dangerous Jack was, took a step back. "You didn't ask..." The Man said, his voice guarded.

Jack sighed, taking control of his anger. "Well, if we want to escort you, we need to stay healthy. Let us use some of your health kits that you've got stocked up."

"What! No way! Those are MY medkits-" The Man wiltered at Jack's glare and quickly correctly, "-and what's mine is yours too! I'd be happy to give you some, as a token of my appreciation for your protection."

With those words, the Man pulled out medi-kits and gave them to Jack and Eleanor. Eleanor only had to use one as her wounds were already almost completely healed but Jack and Marie required quite a hefty amount. The Man's eyes bulged out at the quantity they were using but a glare from Jack quickly stiffled any complaint.

Soon, they were all in healthy condition, give or a take a couple of bruises. Marie remained knocked-out but the wonders of Rapture medicine had completely healed her shattered arm.

"We need to get a move on," Jack said, his eyes scanning the area around them. "The faster we get out of her, the better off we are."

"What about Marie?" Asked Eleanor, gesturing to the comatose Hispanic. "She's still out of it."

"I'll carry her," Replied Jack. "You're our heavy hitter. We can't have you slowed down."

"On the contrary," Eleanor disagreed. "I have far more physical strength than you Jack, so I would be slowed far less than you would. I'm also much faster and agile and with my armor I'll be much more effective at protecting Marie. And with my regeneration, I've got nothing to worried about. She'll be safer with me as the shield and you as the gun."

For a moment Jack almost said no. He felt a personal responsibility to protect Marie, due both to his position as father and his guilt at bringing her down into this underwater hell in the first place. And with the animosity that Eleanor and Marie had for each other, Jack wasn't one hundred percent sure Eleanor would be arranging for his daughter to have an "accident"...

Jack quickly squashed that thought. That was his guilt and anger talking. Eleanor's argument was logical and correct- and she had changed greatly since they had first met. Although she and Marie had some bad blood between them, Jack realized this was a positive step forward. With Eleanor offering to carry Marie, it showed that the violet-haired girl was willing to bury the hatchet. With those optimistic thoughts, Jack said, "Very well Eleanor- I'm grateful that you would be willing to do this for Marie."

He paused then added, "Be careful though. You shouldn't rely so much on your regeneration. Don't forget we've taken some ADAM out of you already. We have no idea how that will affect you and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Eleanor nearly swooned like a little girl as her heart fluttered in happiness: Jack was worried that she would get hurt! He cared about her! At Jack's words she knew instantly it was worth carrying the useless spawn. As she scooped up the dumb Hispanic girl, carrying her bridal style. She had been tempted to throw her across her shoulder like the sack of potatoes the idiot was, but she didn't want to upset Jack.

"Don't worry about protection," The Man suddenly said. "If we get attacked again, I won't bail on you guys."

Jack looked at him in surprise. "Didn't you say you were a pacifist?"

The Man gave a vicious smile. "Oh, you'll be surprise how many ways there are to keep a splicer down without hurting them...much."

Eleanor and Jack exchanged a glance before continuing their journey. Some things were best left unknown.

* * *

**(A/N: Thanks to Forgotten Honor, Rickmer, The Ravaja of Dejeneration, L.D, LolliDictator, Insurgo, and rockobrocko for your reviews! I really appreciate your input!)**

**Edited Dec 31. 2010 for minor errors.  
**


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